Pure Corruption
by L'ange-Sans-Ailes
Summary: Family... it's a tricky word. Does blood necessarily make you family? Or, is it the sharing of pain and love that makes a family? Sequel to Angel on Fire.
1. Father

**A/N:** Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages. L'ange-Sans-Ailes is proud to present, 'Pure Corruption' the detailing of a father and his son, and maybe some Brotherhood mischief, a date or two, and who knows maybe some startling revelations. Enjoy!

Snow was thrown in blankets across our setting. Bayville was now a winter wonderland… well when the Brotherhood isn't around. It has been about a month since last we saw our heroes. Yes, I speak of the Brotherhood of Misunderstood Lazy Drunks Who Like to Fight. But for the moment they aren't the subjects of this tale.

-Across the street from the Boarding House-

Inside the suburban home sat a man and a woman on a couch. They were watching T.V. until the phone rang.

The woman answered it, "Hello?" she became very serious, "The mission is progressing flawlessly." The person on the other end began talking again, "They haven't found the camera."

The man took the initiative and walked over to what appeared to be a bar, but once he opened the cabinets it revealed a keyboard and several televisions. Once he turned them on, various sides of the Brotherhood Boarding House could be seen, including the garage.

"Yes sir I understand," she paused then her features twisted to shock, "That's _his_ son?" the man on the other end started talking, "Well no sir, of course not. We will make the necessary accommodations." She listened intently, "Yes sir, death to all mutants."

She hung up the phone and looked to her husband, "I assume that we'll be expecting company." She nodded, "Who is it?" he asked, turning his attention back to the Brotherhood boys working on Lance's car.

"Julio Esteban Richter," she stated with a smile.

-Several hours later outside of Bayville High-

The Brotherhood boys, plus Wanda, minus Lance, stood behind Lance's car in the back of the parking lot, each one freezing his, or her, respective ass off.

"Where the hell is Lance?" Wanda asked clutching her Scarlet Witch trench coat for warmth.

Freddy adjusted the collar on his black wool sweater, "He said he was just gonna take a leak," he said as his teeth clattered.

"That was half an hour ago!" Pietro exclaimed zipping up his blue ski jacket.

In the distance the school bell rang.

"I hope he gets here soon, yo," Todd shrugged as he adjusted his earmuffs and shoved his hands into his green hoodie's pocket, he stared back towards the school, "The Brotherhood can't stand the cold, that's why we weren't in the Christmas episode."

The others esteemed members of the Brotherhood would have nodded in agreement, but they were too busy freezing valued body parts that they had grown quite attached to.

-Meanwhile inside the school-

Lance walked out of the bathroom wearing a denim jacket over a gray sweatshirt. He ran his hand through his long hair as he walked through the hall.

"Lance, mijo is that you?" A voice called out from behind him.

Lance spun around in a flash a look of hate on his face, "What are you doing here?" he asked with agitation.

There stood a relatively short man with dark skin. His hair resembled Lance's old hairstyle but it was the same color. He had stubble on a jaw that quite resembled Lance's as well, "What? I can't drop by and see my only son?"

Lance balled up his fists, "Great you stopped, now leave before I decide to use you for some appropriately aimed aggression."

Julio smiled at the teen, "Same old Lance, you got your mother's temper."

In an instant Lance shoved Julio against a locker his fists clenched around his father's shirt, "I don't ever want to hear you talk about my mother again," he said in a menacingly low voice.

Upon finishing his statement, Lance was hurled back across the hall into the opposite lockers. In his rage he had failed to notice the bell ring, and there in front of him stood a variety of X-Men.

"Vhat do you think you're doing, Lance?" Kurt questioned. Anna and the rest of her squad minus Laura and Amara stood behind her.

"Yeah, like why are you doing this?" Kitty questioned from his right, "You totally lost your mind didn't you?"

Lance looked to his left as Tabby, Roberto, Ray, and a crowd of students chanting 'fight' gathered around them. He cursed himself for forgetting that over half of the X-Men were currently in his senior class. Lance took a low stance both fists clenched ready to release a tremor.

Julio muscled through the crowd, "Leave my boy alone!" he exclaimed at the crowd.

At the moment the Principal showed up ushering the students to their classes, then turned to Lance, "You're on thin ice already Alvers. If it wasn't for your mother, I could suspend you and your delinquent friends," he then turned to Julio, "And who are you?"

Julio stuck out his hand, "Julio Esteban Richter, I'm Lance's father," the Principal shook his hand, "I apologize for the scene, but Lance wanted to show me around."

The Principal looked at Lance, "Is this true?" he asked with an accusing glare.

"Yeah," Lance pushed himself passed both men, "But I'm leaving now, so everything's okay."

Both men just watched as the boy walked towards the door.

-Outside-

Lance was sitting in his Challenger turning over the motor. The hood had been popped and Todd was crouched on the fender fiddling with the carburetor.

"Try it again yo," he called out.

Lance turned it over again, and again nothing happened.

"I don't how to tune this thing yo," Todd said scratching his head.

Lance sighed, "Me either," he said as he let his head fall onto the steering wheel.

"Come on son, it's easy," Julio spoke as he pulled out a flat head screw driver and began adjusting the main carburetor, "Okay now."

Lance shook his head and turned it over again. This time, with a mighty roar, the mighty Challenger sprang to life, "How did you…" Lance trailed off.

He gestured across the lot to an orange nineteen sixty-nine Dodge Charger, "Like father like son eh?"

Lance hopped out of the car pulled Todd off the fender by his hood, and slammed the car hood closed, "I'm nothing like you! I stayed with my wife."

Julio peeked an eyebrow. His eyes traveled Wanda's length… and width, with a smirk, "Wow mijo, you got a pretty one. How are you chica?" he smiled at Wanda, "Lance I'm so proud of you."

Wanda glared at the man, "She ain't Lance's Sheila," St. John laughed, "Hell she don't even loihke men!"

Lance, and the boys placed themselves in front of Wanda, "Look, I've been doing fine without you for fourteen years," Lance explained, "You can't just walk up to me like we're friends," he signaled for the Brotherhood to get into the car.

Julio peeked an eyebrow, "But I'm your papa, and you're my Chico," he said with a smile, "Eres mi sangre."

Lance sat in the front seat, "Takes more than blood to make you a family old man."

-Several minutes later a the Boarding House-

Regan sat in the kitchen writing down several notes in a spiral, when the back door was kicked open. Lance stomped into the room, releasing mild tremors as he walked.

"Bad day at school?" Regan asked not tearing herself from her book.

"I don't want to talk about it!" Lance exclaimed rather harshly. He walked out of the room and she could her him stomp up the stairs, down the hall to their bedroom, and finally slam the door shut.

Raven then walked into the room with a confused look on his face, "What's wrong with Lance?"

"Some bushwhacker showed up outta nowhere and said he was Lance's old man," Raven looked to the back door and saw the rest of the Brotherhood filing in, "How was your day dad?"

Raven looked positively shocked, which thoroughly scared the Brotherhood boys.

"What's wrong Raven?" Regan asked, "Do you know him?"

"Not personally, all I know is that Lance hates that man more than he hates the entire X-Men squad combined," Raven explained.

-A few hours later-

Regan made her way down the hall to the door of her bedroom. She turned the knob, opened the door, and walked in. She then quickly closed the door behind her. She looked at the bed and saw Lance reading a small paperback book and writing in a spiral.

"Lance," she whispered, "What's wrong?"

Lance marked the page in his book, and put it and the spiral on the next to the bed, "I'm gonna tell you, but you can't tell anyone okay?" she nodded, "He ditched me and my mom when I was five."

Regan sat down next to him and rested her head on his chest, "Honey, I didn't know."

Lance sighed, "No one knows," he shook his head, "After he left my mom didn't last long. Working two jobs, taking care of me, the depression she musta felt after he left…" Lance paused for a moment, "I was an orphan at eight… You know they wouldn't even let me go to my own mother's funeral."

Regan looked at her husband, "Oh my God, Lance. That's just cruel."

Lance got up and took his shirt off, "No, no it was great," he pulled a couple of heavy free-weights out from under the bed, "I got into a great foster home, with six other kids. Almost got fed on a daily basis," he began pumping his biceps, "I grew up in a rough neighborhood filled with criminals, I was lucky," his voice was completely devoid of emotion.

Regan wrapped her arms around his chest causing him to stop, "How can you possibly think that you were lucky?"

Lance chuckled, "It made me strong. I may have had to grow up quick, but I'm not naïve," he explained, "No one is ever gonna walk into my life, and just expect to have my trust."

-Meanwhile across the street-

Julio sat on the couch next to the happy mutant hating couple.

"What is our next move sir?" the Wife questioned, "Lady Deathstrike and the Reavers have been captured, and that mutant filth has the Sentinel."

The Husband nodded in agreement, "What about Trask's other Sentinel's? could we use them?"

Julio leaned forward, forearms resting on his knees, "Calm down. Todo esta bien. Mr. Creed wouldn't have sent me, unless the Sentinels couldn't cut it."

"Does that mean…" the Wife trailed off.

Julio nodded, "Apparently Stark Industries has taken an interest in them."


	2. Camping Secrets

-Early the next morning-

It was early, too early, depending on who you ask. The sun was barely peaking over the horizon, and a nice sheet of ice covered the road. That alone would deter a normal driver, but alas, there was a van racing down the street and with a sharp turn it careened into the Brotherhood driveway. After it skidded to a halt, the driver's door was immediately flung open to reveal Raven in proper snow attire.

Raven walked to the house flung open the door and with her powerful lungs yelled up the stairs, "Get you're lazy asses down here before I have you all sent to work on an oil rig in Alaska!"

At the threat of getting real jobs and freezing off vital body parts the Brotherhood descended, and in Karima's case ascended, the stairs.

Lance stared at the blue woman then to the clock, he rubbed his eyes vigorously, and peered at the clock again, "Why are you yelling at us at five o'clock in the morning?" he questioned, slightly annoyed.

Raven placed her hands on her hips and smiled, "We're going camping!" she exclaimed in excitement.

"It's got to be four degrees outside! Camping in this weather's like suicide!" Pietro exclaimed, almost breaking the sound barrier with his jaw.

Raven glared at the teen, "You have twenty minutes to go get your stuff before I start amputating body parts and begin beating you senseless with said body parts," she said through clenched teeth.

"Well, who's ready to go camping?" Pietro asked with a forced smile before darting up the stairs.

-Nineteen minutes and forty-three seconds later-

The Brotherhood was standing at Raven's van, each one holding a duffel bag. Raven instructed Freddy to throw all of their belongings into the back of the van.

Lance eyed the van, "What happened to the Lotus?" he asked.

Raven rolled her eyes, "Relax, it's just a rental until the trip is over," she clapped her hands together, "Is everyone ready?"

Her response was met by moans and groans.

"Do I have to get the hose?" she asked threateningly.

The Brotherhood responded with forced cheers and smiles.

"Good," she said, "Get in the van!" they scrambled into the van, and off they were.

-Several hours later in upstate New York-

After arguing, an old fashioned Brotherhood fist fight, and Wanda slapping every Brotherhood boy within range, the Brotherhood boys had cleaned up a small clearing, procured water, gathered firewood, started a fire, and set up the tents.

Now they sat on several logs around the roaring fire.

"So, why are we here Mystique?" Lance asked his arms crossed across his chest.

"How well would you say that we know each other?" she asked.

Lance hated when people answered a question with a question, "We know each other pretty well," he said.

"What's my middle name?" Lance looked at her in confusion, "What's the name of St. John's book? When did Wanda find out she was a lesbian? What is Todd's dream? Who's Freddy's hero? Why doesn't Pietro sleep at night?" she questioned in quick succession, "You can answer some of them, but you as well as I know that each person here is hiding something deeper and darker."

"So, we're here to share our deepest darkest secrets with the group?" Todd asked huddling into his hoodie.

Raven nodded, "I'll start. I've been in love with another woman since the middle of the last century. And to be perfectly honest I wasn't born in this or the last century," she stated crossing her legs.

"Sometimes I feel like I don't deserve to be part of the team," Todd said staring at the fire, "I mean I have all of these powers but I'm not the best at anything. Pietro's faster, Freddy's stronger, Lance is tougher, and Wanda has better projectiles."

"Come on Todd, you're our ninja guy," Freddy said with a smile.

"Yeah," Lance nodded in agreement, "None of us could even slow that Iron Fist kid down, but you put some hurt on him, and beat him."

Todd smiled, "Really?" he questioned.

"Of course," Wanda responded.

Before a pause could settle in, Lance spoke. "I hate my father," he said devoid of emotion, "I hate him more than I've hated anyone." After a few minutes of explaining, and a luck speech, the Brotherhood finally understood what was going through fearless leader's mind.

There was a small silence.

"I'm still in love with Tabby. I know I shouldn't be but I can't help it, I love her," Freddy blurted out, "Is it wrong to still hold out hope?"

Karima shook her head, "Of course not, having hope makes you human. We've all held hope for something that seemed unobtainable."

The rest of the Brotherhood nodded in agreement.

"My powers scare the hell out of me," Pietro said, a bit too slow for comfort, "If I'm not careful, I could live my entire life in the time it takes someone to tie their shoes," he smiled, "But on the other side of the coin, I couldn't stand being as slow as the rest of you," he looked up at the gathered mutants, "I could phase my hand through any of you, or incinerate you cause of the high friction," he paused, "I've lived at near light speed and slow enough to smell the roses, both experiences scare me."

"We all look for balance in our lives," Regan said, "You just have to find yours. Then you can get over your fear."

Pietro only nodded at her.

Wanda looked down at Deuce in her lap, "You're going to think I'm crazy but… I used to have children."

Regan put her hand on her shoulder, "We know."

"We've always known," Lance continued for her.

"Either Strange was trained to suck at his job," Pietro said, "Or, he let us remember so we could be there for you."

There was a small silence, before St. John cleared his throat, "Everyone thinks oih'm crazy. Oih hoihde behoihnd moih mask of insanity, cause it protects me from getting' to close to someone. Oih grew up alone, in and out of foster homes. Never knew moih mom, never knew moih dad. Didn't know if anyone cared, and foihnaly when someone does, oih can't handle it, so oih lose moihself in the fiery destruction," he let out a strained Acolyte cackle, "Not even 'Mara."

"I'm here now John, as well as the rest of the Brotherhood," Raven said in an uncharacteristically motherly voice, "And I don't ever plan on leaving."

"My sister and I were kidnapped by this government agency when we were kids. They wanted to turn us into unthinking assassins," Regan said, her voice filled with contempt, "Our father looked for us for years, and when he finally found us, he offered us an out. I took the offer, but Martinique that bitch, wouldn't leave. They opened fire on him, I watched my father die no farther that any of you are from me right now," Lance wrapped an arm around her, "She didn't even shed a tear. It took me another year to break out on my own."

"I'm glad you did," Lance lifted her chin with his hand, "Or else we wouldn't be here," he leaned for a kiss.

"Get a tent, yo!" Todd exclaimed.

"You're scaring Deuce," Wanda said covering the dog's eyes.

Raven sighed, "Lance, Regan I demand that you stop your public display of affection before Freddy vomits marshmallows," she said in a serious voice.

With that the couple decided to stop, thus allowing a slightly awkward silence to fill the void.

"The sensors in my arm… let me feel," Karima stated staring at her hands, "But it's still nothing compared to touching something with bare flesh…" she looked up with sad eyes, "You never realize that you take something as small as the sense of touch for granted," she frowned, "Is someone who can't touch still human?"

"Of course," Pietro said compellingly, "Being human is more than just being able to touch. It's about having heart, emotions, and compassion," everyone looked at him, "What? It is!" he exclaimed.

Raven smiled at her wards, her family. She finally had people in her life that she could love, care for, and maybe, even die for. And no one will ever take that away from her, she would make sure of it.

-The next morning at the Boarding House-

"I can't look at it!" Pietro exclaimed, "What heartless bastard would do this to my poor defenseless couch?" He was on his knees foam and a shredded cushion in his hands, "Why!"

"Where we robbed?" Todd asked.

Lance seethed with anger, "Looks like they just trashed the place."

Freddy rubbed the back of his head, "Who do you think did it?"

Lance shook his head, "The X-Men are too goody-goody to do something like this, this seems too beneath Fury, and we're on good terms with the Wrecking crew for now."

Wanda ran down the stairs, "Those bushwhacking bastards stole moih back scratcher!"

Wanda rolled her eyes, "Someone stole the sword."

"Who would steal something that's only useful to John?" Todd asked in a crouched position.

"Who ever did this is obviously an idiot, has no class, and is a bumbling thief," Raven ranted, "I wonder where Deadpool was last night."

"Who's Deadpool?" Freddy asked.

"Pray you never have to know," Was Raven's only replied.

"My couch!" Wanda screamed, she dropped to her knees and began stroking it, "Do you know how many good times I had on this couch? I had Cindy the Cheerleader on this couch," she said, tears threatening to escape her eyes.

"We still don't know who did this," Regan stated.

"They're called the Purifiers," everyone turned around to see Julio leaning against the door frame, "And they hate mutants."


	3. Enter Iron Man

Lance stepped forward and glared at his father, "How do you know they did this?" he questioned.

Julio walked into the house, and took a look around, "You're asking the wrong questions, mijo," he stated with a simple smile on his face.

Lance balled up his fists, "Then what question should I be asking?" he asked, anger flowing through his being.

Regan placed a calming hand on his shoulder, "Why did they steal the sword?"

Julio smiled, "So you're my son's wife," he examining her from head to toe, "You have a very attractive and obviously intelligent wife, mijo," he said with a smirk.

"Just answer the damn question," Lance said forcefully.

"Calmate mijo," Julio said with a smile, "They stole the sword, so they could kill every mutant on the planet."

Raven crossed her arms, "Why would they want to do something idiotic like that?" she asked.

Julio shrugged, "They're only a bunch of religious zealots, who think it is God's will to destroy your entire species," he said it as if it was a commonly known fact.

Wanda shook her head, "The sword is powerful but there is no way it could possibly have a global effect," she stated with a bit of venom.

Julio smiled and nodded, "On its own, of course not. But what if someone found an object with an unlimited power source to feed it?" he asked.

Raven swiftly turned to Wanda, "Is there such a power source?" she asked, worry apparent on her face.

"Dozens," Julio interrupted, "Thor's hammer Mjolnir, the Ebony Blade of the Black Knight, the Crimson Gem of Cyttotak, just to name a few."

Wanda glared at the older man, "But which one are they using?" she asked through clenched teeth.

"The Book of the Vishanti," he stated without batting an eyelash.

Wanda forcefully grabbed him by the shirt collar, "Don't screw with us, that book couldn't hurt anyone, even if it fell of the coffee table and landed on someone's foot," her eyes glowed with a faint scarlet light.

Julio smirked, "Under normal circumstances you'd be right, but they aren't using the book directly are they?" her eyes went wide, "They're using it to power a mystical weapon that is perfectly capable of committing genocide," when he finished his statement Wanda released him.

Lance stepped forward, "Where are they hiding?" he questioned.

Julio turned to the door and began walking around, "You're the detectives, you figure it out."

-Later that day in New York City-

A metallic red and gold humanoid flew through the air. He wove in-between skyscrapers and buildings until he got to one building in particular, Stark Industries. He picked up more speed and flew straight 

at a window. Before he could go crashing through the window quickly retracted and the metallic man hovered inches above the floor.

As his feet touched the floor, he was quickly met by an elderly man, "Enjoy your test flight Mr. Stark?"

The metallic man reached for his head, and the face plate rose revealing a young mustached face beneath, "Jarvis, the Extremis Iron Man armor is fully operational," he said with a smile.

Jarvis nodded, "You have guests awaiting your attention in the lab."

Suddenly, Stark's face lost that cheerful glee, "I hope he has something I can actually use this time."

They walked towards an elevator in the back of the office, got in, and descended down to the lab.

-Several seconds later-

Stark and Jarvis walked out of the elevator and were immediately halted by one of the most intimidating forces on the planet.

"Tony Stark," General Nick Fury said with a smirk, "One of the greatest scientific minds on the planet, only rivaled by Hank Pym, Henry McCoy, Bruce Banner, and Reed Richards." he paused for a moment, "How are the test subjects coming along?"

Stark rolled his eyes, "Any of my peers could do this, why come to me?" he asked almost pleadingly.

Fury crossed his arms, "If you want a well rounded scientist, you call Pym. Got a problem with biology? McCoy is your man. Radiation? You call Banner. Can't solve a complex physics equation? Richards can do it in his sleep," he stated with a smile, "But they're all wrong for this job, and you know it. This job requires skills in applied engineering. This job requires the skills of a mechanical genius. Someone who understands the inner workings of a clock by second nature. This job requires you, Tony Stark. The golden boy of Stark Industries."

"Fury, you flatter me… stop," Stark replied dryly.

Fury stepped forward, "Have you made any progress?" he asked in a bored tone.

Stark sighed and flipped a switch that illuminated the back of the lab. The three men walked to the back where six stretchers carrying six men stood. Each man was wired to several life support machines, and seemed to be barely clinging to life at all.

"Prime Sentinels," Stark said barely above a whisper, "Men infused with Sentinel technology," he turned to Fury, "As good as you think I am. I can't separate them on my own. Please tell me you brought Trask."

"I'll do you one better," Fury stated as he walked back to a crate, that until now Stark hadn't noticed, and pried open the top. He then pulled out a body, which was absent all its limbs except the head, "Meet Bastion."

Stark peeked an eyebrow, "He's a torso," he stated unimpressed.

Fury shook his head, "His arms and legs are in the crate, but that's not important right now."

Stark examined the new addition to the lab, "What is he?" he asked genuinely perplexed.

Suddenly, Bastion's eyes began to glow red, "I am Bastion. Primary function; Transforming Homo-Sapiens into Prime Sentinel sleep agents. Secondary function; the Extermination of the mutant threat," he said in a cold metallic voice.

Fury chuckled sarcastically, "That's not even the best part. Bastion," the torso looked up at him, "What are you made of?"

"Sentinel unit Bastion is the hybrid of human organs and tissues infused with the near indestructible Nimrod Exoskeleton, and the Master Mold program, used to create Prime Sentinels," Bastion said, with… pride?

Stark slammed his hands on the lab table, leaving huge dents as he hadn't removed the Iron Man armor yet, "I don't care if you were made from an old Chevy Camaro, tell me how to turn the Prime Sentinels back into flesh and bone!" he yelled in a demanding voice.

Bastion paused for a moment, "Request processed. Once the organic defect has been removed the resulting unit cannot survive without its mechanical upgrades."

"Then how do I get rid of the Sentinel programming?" he asked through clenched teeth.

Bastion turned his head from Stark to Fury then back to Stark, "No mutant signatures present. The Omega Sentinel is the only unit with the necessary programming to remove the old programming."

Stark looked at him in surprise, "Omega Sentinel?" he asked, "What is that? Why wasn't he in any of the records?"

"The mutant Magneto is considered to be the greatest threat to humanity. Precautions were taken to insure that if he was to attack, humanity would survive," Bastion explained, "She was created using the world's third strongest metal, Vibranium."

Fury looked puzzled, "Why Vibranium? Why not Adamantium?"

"Although Adamantium is more durable, as is Carbonadium, Vibranium has two key advantages," Bastion said devoid of emotion, "It can absorb sound ambient, making the Omega Sentinel a perfect stealth unit, and it can passively disrupt and weaken the electromagnetic spectrum around it."

"If Magneto can't exert his will on metal, then he'd be defenseless," Fury said in a surprised tone.

"Where do we find her?" Stark asked.

"She's with the Brotherhood," Fury said with a smirk.

-Several hours later in Wanda's room-

"Are you sure you don't want to come with us?" Wanda spoke into the phone while thumbing through her closet, "I know it's stupid but he's in love."

She placed the phone back on the stand and clicked the speaker button, "Amara is very excited," Jean's voice emanated from the speaker.

Wanda held a top in front of her chest as she looked in the mirror, "Yeah, so is John," she removed the top revealing her naked chest.

"So when are you going to take me out?" Jean asked seductively.

Wanda's hand traced up her side to her chest, "Stop messing with those," Wanda then slapped her hand.

"What was that?" Jean asked hurriedly.

Wanda paused for a moment, "John's just practicing for his date," she said glaring into the mirror.

"Sorry Sheila, oih can't help it," St. John said weakly.

"Well have fun on your date. Make sure you bring Wanda back before eleven," Jean said teasingly.

"Course oih will Sheila, me an' Wanda an' 'Mara will be between those sheets before noihne!" St. John exclaimed with a grin.

"If I could I'd kill you all over again," Wanda said harshly, "Jean, I'll call you when we get back."

"Okay, be sure to use protection," She said quickly before hanging up.

St. John raised an eyebrow, "Do you think she knows Sheila?" St. John questioned.

Wanda shook her head, "No," she whispered, "She can't possibly know, Strange wiped everyone's mind clean…" she paused for a moment, "It… it was just a joke."

St. John cleared his throat, "A joke from an omega, just don't seem as funny as it should be," he said with a completely straight face.

Wanda could only nod in agreement.

After a few more minutes Wanda finally settled on a tight long sleeved scarlet shirt and some black denim jeans. She grabbed a thick scarlet jacket and smiled, "The things I do for people I can't stand," she said as she opened her bedroom door.


	4. Date Night

Wanda descended the stairs pulling on her coat. She landed on the ground floor and examined the situation in front of her.

Lance was currently sitting on a bench next to the front door. He wore his hoodie and leather jacket and ran his fingers through his hair, while his lovely wife playfully slapped his hand and pulled his hair into a loose pony tail. A few strands escaped and rested along the left side of his face.

Wanda chuckled, "Where are you two going?"

Regan looked up at the resident witch and smiled, "Lance decided to take me out tonight," she adjusted her own leather jacket, "He's just the sweetest thing."

Wanda peeked an eyebrow, "Really? Could you give several examples or provide video footage?"

Regan smirked at the other woman, but before a witty response could be issued Todd leapt over the rail and onto the floor between the two women holding two shirts.

"I asked her to the movies yo," he said in a panicky voice, "Which shirt should I wear? The brown one or the yellow one?" he held each one to his chest.

"Don't worry about it Todd, it's gonna be dark she won't notice," Lance said with a smile.

Regan glared at her husband then quickly turned back to Todd, "Don't listen to him, women always examine how their dates look. Do you need a ride?" she asked, "We're headed there as well."

Gears began turning in Wanda's head, "Wait, are we all going to the movies?"

Lance, Regan, and Todd exchanged looks.

"Looks loihke we're gonna have company Sheila," St. John said with a smile.

-A few minutes later-

Pietro dashed down the stairs, into the living room, and stopped only when the remote was in his hands. He sat on a brand new suede couch his feet kicked up on the coffee table and began flipping though the channels as quickly as they showed up.

He finally settled on watching a Scooby-Doo marathon. He then patted the cushion next to him, "It's not the same."

"What's not the same?"

Pietro looked up, now face to face with Karima, "We have to put a bell on you."

She smiled as she sat down next to him and snuggle against his arm, "Where is everyone?"

"Mystique's on a business meeting, Freddy went to get groceries, and the others are at the movies," he said indifference apparent in his voice.

"Why didn't you go out too?" she asked, trying to probe the speedster's mind.

"I'd rather hang out with you at home," he said with a smile, without missing a beat.

Karima stared at him for a moment trying to read his emotions, she knew he was still hurt, but she also knew she could do little to help him. So, she rested her head on his shoulder and continued to watch the T.V. with him.

-Several minutes later at the movie theatre-

Lance and Regan sat in the back of the theatre in the very last row, all the way against the left side of the wall. Lance had his arm wrapped around Regan's shoulder somewhat possessively. Regan had a bucket of popcorn in her lap and would toss a kernel into her mouth ever so carelessly.

She looked at her husband, "Why did you pick these seats?" she asked.

Her question was quickly answered with a kiss, "Better view," he responded with a smirk.

Regan smiled at him, "Did you see how much Wanda got to snack on?" she asked, "I had no idea a woman as trim as her could eat so much."

Lance nodded, "Yeah the day she showed up at the Boarding House, we all just watched her eat. Even Pietro was surprised," he began rubbing his chin, "Only thing is, I can't figure out where she puts it all."

"I think it all goes to her boobs," Lance looked at her, "What?" she asked defensively, "You have a better theory?"

Lance stared at the screen, afraid to answer.

On the other side of the theatre Wanda sat next to Amara against the opposite wall.

Wanda sat with her head tilted back literally chugging various chocolate candies.

"Dammit Sheila, oih can't breathe," St. John exclaimed between brief moments of chewing, "Where'd you learn to eat, with a pack of dingos?"

Wanda reached for the cardboard trey and grabbed something warm wrapped in foil.

"Oh no, not the hotdog," St. John said as she unwrapped the hotdog, "Can you at least put mustard on it?" he pleaded, Wanda then unhinged her jaw like an anaconda, "Have you no mercy woman?"

-Several minutes later-

Wanda leaned back into her chair now chewing a piece of gum, several empty boxes, pieces of foil and a cardboard trey lay at her feet.

"The horror," St. John whispered, "The unholy horror."

"Calm down, John," Wanda said with a content smile, "It was just a tiny snack."

"A snack that could put Freddy to sleep!" he exclaimed.

Wanda only smiled and continued to watch the previews, when suddenly she felt something on her thigh. She looked down to see a hand squeezing her thigh, her head shot up to see Amara staring at her with a smile on her face.

"What are you doing?" Wanda asked with a confused face.

"Can I talk to Johnny?" Amara asked hope apparent in her voice.

Wanda's arm snaked around the other girl's shoulder, and pulled her closer to Wanda's chest, "Hello 'Mara."

Amara smiled and set her head on his shoulder, "I missed you Johnny," as she finished her statement she wrapped her arms around his stomach, and gave him a light squeeze.

He reached out with his hand picked her chin up, so he could look her in the eyes, "Oih'm here now love, and oih don't plan on goin' anywhere," he slowly closed the gap between then and placed a long passionate kiss on her lips.

"Wow."

"Wanda?" Amara questioned.

"You really love him don't you?" she asked in response.

Amara smiled, "I really, truly do."

Wanda sat back into her chair with a sigh.

'What wrong Sheila?' St. John asked as he appeared in front of her in typical ghost fashion.

Wanda looked up at him with sad eyes, 'John…' she paused for a moment, 'I swear that I'm going to find some way to help you,' she smiled at him, 'She doesn't deserve the pain of being without you.'

As she finished her thought Amara leaned her back on Wanda's shoulder.

'Thanks Sheila, oih owe you one,' St. John said as he entered Wanda's body.

St. John then placed a small kiss on her forehead.

-Meanwhile-

Sitting in the middle of the theatre, Todd had long ago wrapped an arm around his date. Her head rested affectionately on his shoulder, while his head rested atop hers.

She reached for his hand, and intertwined her fingers in his, "Thank ye for taking me out," she said into the crook of his neck.

Todd smiled, "I missed you," he said in a whisper, "We don't get to spend a lot of time together."

"Aye, aye have maye training, and ye have yer new business," she said in a rather sad tone.

"But we make it work," he said with a smile.

"Aye," she said affectionately.

-A few hours later in the classiest hotel room at the classiest hotel in all of Bayville-

Raven lay in the hotel bed, the blankets clutched in her hands. Her mouth was shaped into a small 'O' while she gazed up at the ceiling with glazed over eyes.

"Wow," Raven said with a genuine smile.

Next to the glowing blue woman sat a brunette woman slipping on her bra, then her shirt, and finally a pair of black sunglasses.

"Where are you going Irene?" Raven asked curiosity emanating from her voice.

Irene turned back to her and smiled surreally, "I sense a vision approaching, it may be the one you are waiting for," she said as she made her way to a near by table.

Raven watched as the woman pulled out a chair and sat in it in one fluid motion, "I love it when you do that."

Irene sat at the table her hands in her lap, "I know, Raven," she said with a slight smirk, "I simply let my mind see what my eyes are no longer capable of seeing."

After finishing her statement, she seemed to slip into a meditative state. She sat there for several minutes until a rather large smile crept onto her face.

"Raven?" she questioned.

Raven looked at the woman, "Yes Destiny?"

"I foresee you losing a son," Raven's face twisted to worry, "But you will gain one you have lost," Irene said.

Raven sat up in the bed and stared at the woman for a few seconds, "Lost?" she questioned hope present in her eyes, "Do you mean?"

Irene only nodded.

-Meanwhile at the Boarding House-

Pietro still sat on the couch, his head leaning slightly to the right. His breathing was slow and rhythmic. The fastest insomniac alive was finally sleeping. And Karima couldn't be happier.

She watched him as he slept, she couldn't quite figure out how this boy captured her attention. She wouldn't call it romantic, but she couldn't exactly expel the possibility all together, could she?

For now all she wanted from him was friendship. He was, after all, the first person to reassure her of her humanity.

She looked down at her cybernetic right arm. She shifted it to her plasma cannon, then back to her hand, then to her cannon, and finally back into her hand. She smiled at her reflection, for once being content with her appearance.

Before she could settle against Pietro's chest a knock came at the door. She hovered off of the couch and towards the door, as to not awaken the sleeping speedster.

"Hello?" she asked as she opened the door.

"Karima Shapandar?" she nodded, "Would you like to save lives?"

**A/N:** Sorry for the lateness.


	5. The Truth?

-A couple of hours later-

Pietro woke up with a jolt as the pantry door slammed. He looked around in a sleepy daze, then got to his feet and stretched his freshly rested limbs. He walked, yes walked, into the kitchen and saw Freddy with several dozen grocery bags.

Pietro grabbed a few items, "Need some help?" he asked.

Freddy turned to meet the speedster, "Sure," he said with a smile.

One by one grocery item were stocked in their necessary location, bags became empty, and empty bags found themselves in small wads in the pantry.

Freddy sat at the kitchen table, "Is everyone still out?" he asked while opening a bottle of water.

Pietro nodded, "Have you seen Karima?"

Freddy shook his head, "You were the only person in the house when I got here," he explained.

Pietro nodded and sped to the basement; he knocked once then opened the door to take a look around. She was gone.

Pietro sped back to the kitchen, "She's gone," he said in confusion, "I can't find her anywhere."

Freddy peeked an eyebrow, "Gone? Where could she have gone?" he questioned.

"I don't know," Pietro said slowly, "She doesn't go out on her own, unless she's with one of us."

"What are we gonna do?" Freddy got to his feet, "Should we wait for Wanda to do a spell or something?" he asked.

Pietro smirked, "Come on Freddy you know I can't wait." He sped to his room and back, comm. link in hand. He switched it so that it would send a signal directly to Karima, and not the entire Brotherhood, "Karima?" he questioned.

After a few seconds, pained screams began emanating from the device. Followed by a strange voice, "Sit still!" then silence, the comm. link went dead.

"What do we do Pietro?" Freddy asked in a panic.

"I'm going after her," Pietro said as he was about to take off to suit up.

A mighty hand stopped him, "Take me with you," Freddy said, determination burning in his eyes.

Pietro smiled, "Can't do it," Pietro stated calmly, "You have to wait until the others get back, Wanda can concoct a spell, and we can get the drop on this jackass."

Freddy nodded in understanding, contrary to popular belief he's not as dumb as everyone makes him out to be, "Be careful."

"I'll stay in contact," he gestured to the comm. link on his belt. With that Pietro sped off.

At that moment Raven walked in through the back door, "Where is he speeding off to?"

-A few minutes later across the street-

"Honey!" the Husband called out, "Quicksilver just left. I had to slow the camera down just to see the bastard."

The wife hurried into the room, "Who's left in the house?" she asked.

And as if the universe were out to get them, the rest of the Brotherhood drove into the driveway.

The Husband smirked, "Everyone, except Quicksilver," he said with a sick smiled, "Where's Julio?"

The Wife returned the smile, "He went out. Should I get your anniversary gift?"

"Would you?" if at all possible his grin grew wider. The Husband turned back to the monitor while the Wife pulled, with a great deal of effort, something long, cylindrical, and metallic out of the broom closet.

"Happy anniversary," she said as she placed a kiss on his forehead.

He smiled and hefted the gift onto his shoulder, "Just my size," he then made his way to the front door and opened it. He then dropped to one knee and looked into a scope, "Load me."

She pulled a rocket out of the closet, and inserted it into the launcher, "Ready?" she asked.

Freddy opened the door and took a step outside.

The Husband took aim, "Fire in the hole," the rocket shot forward and impacted the Immovable Blob, cause a massive explosion. The Husband was knocked off his feet, "I love you."

-On the streets-

Neighbors began crowding in front of the Brotherhood House. No one knowing exactly what was going, they kept their distance from the infamous house. Sirens soon began howling in the back ground.

It was almost surreal. The house had kept its basic shape thanks to Raven reinforcing the frame work with steel beams instead of the standard wooden ones. Small fires decorated various wooden panels, several of which were on the lawn. Smoke engulfed the front door, not even allowing light from the street lamps to enter.

"Lance!" a voice cut through the commotion, "Mijo! Where are you?" Julio finally muscled his way through the crowd, "Hablame!"

The smoke finally began to dissipate, revealing a charred Freddy. His shirt and the bottom of his overalls reduced to ash.

Lance staggered out of the door, "Freddy speak to me!" he yelled at the giant.

Freddy cough out a puff of smoke, "Smooth," he said wit a strained voice.

"Lance, are you okay?" Julio asked as he began inspecting his son.

Lance shoved him away, "Get away from me!" he yelled out.

He grabbed Lance's shoulders, "Sit down you're bleeding," he said calmly.

Lance had a gash above his left eye, and several unseen bruises on his body, "Leave me alone, I gotta find Pietro, make sure Freddy is okay, and tend to my people inside," he said shoving his father away again.

"He ain't here Lance," Freddy stated as several EMT's began checking his vitals.

"And Fred will be fine," Julio stated trying to calm his son.

"Don't pretend you care," Lance said jabbing his father in the chest with his finger, "'Cause we all know you don't!"

"What?" Julio asked, genuinely confused.

"Come on 'Dad,' my wife is a telepath; the strongest member of my team can hack into your personal computer with an old walkman, and last but certainly not least! I live with a damn Sentinel!" Lance exclaimed, "We all know you're the leader of the Purifiers," he finished his sentence in a whisper.

"You don't understand," Julio tried to explain.

"I don't?" Lance asked menacingly, "Well why don't we call your poker buddies? Reverend Stryker? Graydon Creed? Ring any bells for you? Cause I sure as hell know who they are!"

Julio pulled a small metal device out of his pocket, "There's more to this than you know," he proceeded to push the button, which to everyone's surprise the Mutant Hating Couple's house exploded, "I've been a double agent for fifteen years," suddenly the ground began to shake, "Surprised? You got your mother's temper, but you get your 'rocky' personality from me."

-Meanwhile at the Xavier Institute-

Pietro sped past the security alarms, over the trip wires, and around the motion sensitive lasers. With agility only out classed by Todd, he leapt onto a balcony in a single bound, and crouched down.

He peered into the window; Anna and Kitty were on their respective beds idly talking about something, he couldn't hear and probably wouldn't care about.

But, none the less, a small pain shot through his heart, as he shook his head, "I'll do this with out her," he said quietly. He then leapt to another balcony where he could see Amara sitting alone in the room she shared with Tabby.

He noticed her lips moving but he couldn't hear what she was saying.

-Amara's room-

"Amara." a voice called out from the darkness.

"Who's there?" she questioned.

"Just… a friend," she didn't know how but she knew the voice was smirking.

"What do you want?" she asked in her 'princess' voice.

"Oh nothing…" the voice trailed off, "But I know what you want…" the voice trailed off as an image of a healthy St. John entered her mind.

"Johnny," she said in a whisper.

"Join me," the voice said.

"When?" she asked, a determined look on her face.

"Soon, very soon," the voice began fading away.

-The Balcony-

Pietro shrugged and leapt to the next balcony. He peered into the window and smiled as he had found his accomplice.

-Laura's room-

Laura was sitting on the floor with her legs crossed. She held a book in her hand, her favorite actually, Pinocchio. It reminded her of a simpler time, before she knew what she was, before she knew her father, before she knew a certain speedster. Speaking of…

A light raping came at her window. She quickly moved to it and flung it open. There, to her surprise, was the object of her affection, "I need your help."

Laura sniffed the air around the speedster, "You smell like a machine and a woman," she paused, "Why should, I help you?" she asked crossing her arms across her chest.

"Because you're a wonderful person?" he asked giving her his best smile.

She glared at him, "You know how I feel about you, I, know Anna left you, why are we still playing this game?"

"Because I have to save my friend and you're the only one I trust to go with me," he stated in all seriousness.

"Your 'friend' is a woman, isn't she?" she asked hurt apparent in her eyes.

"Yeah, but it's not like that with her," he smiled, "She's my best friend."

Laura smiled, "Good, I know you're telling the truth," she leapt into his arms.

"Seriously? How?" he asked in a state of confusion he had only been in a few times in his life.

She cuddled into the crook of his neck, making herself comfortable, "I can hear the fluctuations in someone's heart beat when they lie. Super human senses, have more uses than just tracking," she said with a smirk, "So where are we off to?"

"Stark Industries," after finishing his statement he sped off, out of town towards New York. One more night and I won't be here to take your breath away.


	6. Make Your Move

-The Brotherhood Boarding House-

"You're a mutant?" Lance asked.

Julio only nodded.

"You can't be a mutant. Why can't Karima sense you?" Lance asked forcefully.

"My clothes, they're made of a special poly-fiber, that protects my x-gene from being detected by practically every type of scanner known to man," Julio stated folding his arms across his chest.

"Back to the double agent thing," Regan stated as she walked to her husband's side, "What exactly have you been trying to do?" she asked with words dripping with skepticism.

"I've hampered all the progresses the Purifiers have ever made against our species," Julio said with a smirk, "Now what do you say, mijo, ever wanted to take down a bigoted church?"

Lance looked from his wife and back to the sitting Raven.

Raven looked up at him, "It's your decision Lance," she stood up, "I've got to accompany Freddy to the hospital, to make sure he didn't inhale any smoke."

Lance nodded, and then watched as Freddy climbed into the back of the ambulance.

"You're in charge Lance," Raven called out before she got on the ambulance as well.

"Whatever, you decide Lance," Regan placed a hand on his shoulder, "We're behind you."

-Meanwhile in a New York alleyway-

Pietro sped into the alley and stopped cold in the middle. He took a quick look around and finally crossed his arms. He waited a few more seconds and began tapping his foot impatiently.

"Security's tight," he said with great impatience.

Laura finally stepped out from the shadows right behind Pietro, "Just follow my lead," she whispered seductively into his ear.

-Several minutes later-

"Vents…"Laura trailed off, "No matter what the situation, I hate vents. I hate crawling around in them, I hate the fact that no matter what time of year it is, they're always cold, and most of all, I hate being the person in the lead. Never know when you're going to catch a nose in the butt," she said the last part more to herself, "We're just lucky you're lithe enough to fit in here."

"Thanks… I think," he whispered, "But, you have to admit no one ever puts security devices in the air vents. If people saw half as many spy movies as Freddy, they'd do something about it."

Laura suddenly stopped, and swiftly caught Pietro's nose with her butt. She rolled her eyes, "I hate vents," she the proceeded to open the vent and leap down to the floor, "Be quiet there's a lot of noise coming from that room, but I can still hear a heart beat, and a low hum," she said getting low to the ground.

"That was too easy," Pietro whispered as he leapt to ground level.

Suddenly the lights kicked on, "Too true Mr. Maximoff. Fortunately, I have seen one too many spy movies," Stark said from across the room, wearing his very fashionable, very deadly Iron Man armor.

Laura's eyes went wide, "Pietro!" she called out, "Do you know who that is?" she turned to look at the speedster, "That's Tony Stark!"

"I don't care if he's the damn tooth fairy!" Pietro exclaimed as sped towards him arms expanding and vibrating, "Where is she?" he questioned as his fist made contact with the armor. His fist hung in the air for a moment, "Oh no," Pietro was then hurled across the room and into the wall.

"You like?" Stark asked, "Repulsar field my latest design."

Laura moved in close but quickly leapt out of the way, when he tried to hit her, "Too slow tin-man."

Stark snorted, "Like I've never heard that one before," his fist made contact with her chest sending her flying into the door.

Pietro, now with a vague idea, leapt to his feet. He sped around the lab throwing drills, computer screen, a magic eight ball, anything he could get his hands on at the Golden Avenger, "What does it take to take you down!" he was now throwing objects at a subsonic speed.

"Usually a blonde, redhead, and a bottle of thirty year old Scotch," Stark said with a smirk, "You have no idea what you kids have gotten yourselves in to," objects kept colliding with his shield, "I never get tired of beating the bad guys."

Pietro stopped dead in his tracks, "Bad guys?" he questioned in complete surprise, "You kidnap my friend and I'm the bad guy?" he began laughing, "We're the good guys."

Unbeknownst to Stark, Laura had been tinkering with the door trying to unlock it in the most quite way possible, "Pietro!" she exclaimed, "I got the door…" she finished her sentence with a pained scream just as the sound of the bullet being fired began to fade.

"Laura!" Pietro yelled so fast it came out as a hum. He was by Laura's side in an instant, "Laura?" He held her, his hand on a gunshot wound slightly to the left of her belly button.

"Calm down kid she'll be fine in five second," a voice said standing over the two teens, "Then again, five seconds for you is an eternity."

"I should have known you were behind this," Pietro said never taking his eyes off Laura. He smiled as he finally saw the bullet being pushed out of her abdomen.

"Pietro?"

Pietro looked up to see an all too familiar face, "Karima?"

-A few minutes later at the Brotherhood House-

Todd hopped into the living room and stared at Wanda. He stared at her with great concern in his eyes. He dropped into a crouch and leapt onto the couch, settling next to the sad witch.

"Todd?" she whispered.

"Yeah?" he answered.

She shifted her body to face him, "Do you think…" she paused for a moment, "Am I a burden."

Todd was taken a back, "A burden?" he repeated, "What makes you say that?"

"Why else wouldn't Pietro wait for me?" Wanda sighed out, "Am I just dead weight to him."

Todd simply stared at her, in the Brotherhood household only one thing was more freighting than Angry Wanda, is Sad Wanda.

"Course not yo," Todd said smiling at the young witch, "He's just impatient."

She sighed and threw her head back until she was staring at the ceiling.

Todd snapped his fingers, "Maybe he wanted you to follow him with a spell," she sent a confused look at him, "You know, use your freaky twin mind sharing thing, find him, voodoo us there, and then we can help him."

Wanda shot to her feet and made her way to the stairs, "I knew there was a reason we kept you around," she yelled from the second floor.

Todd flipped onto the coffee table, "Good to know… I think."

-Upstairs-

St. John watched as Wanda flipped through one of her books. Her fingers danced around the few pages she decided to stop at. She slammed the book closed and got to her feet.

'What are you doin' Sheila?' St. John asked hovering next to her.

Wanda smirked, "I'm going to use magic to amplify my telepathic bond with Pietro," she stated as her hands began to crack with scarlet chaos magic.

'This is gonna hurt,' St. John said as a mass of red energy engulfed the room, he quickly closed his eyes, 'Wanda?' he asked desperately, 'You okay?' he finally opened his eyes to see Wanda's eyes glowing scarlet.

-A few minutes later at Stark Enterprises-

Laura sat on a lab table fingering the brand new hole in her uniform. She let out a low growl as she wondered how she would explain this to her father and Xavier. She then groaned in realization, by now they'd all have realized she was gone. She then smiled at Pietro, but she couldn't worry about that now.

Pietro sat on a stool in front of the clone. His elbows rested on his knees, while his hands held up his head. He could feel eyes on his back and neck, he knew how she felt about him, he always knew. Since the very first time he had ever seen her, he could feel the emotion emanating off of her. With Anna currently out of the picture he was free to decide if Laura could be that special someone. But he couldn't decide that now, so he watched his new friend intently.

Karima made her way around each man. She would gently place her hand on each of their foreheads, much to Bastion's discrepancy. As her hand rested on one of their foreheads her eyes began to flash red, and the instant her eyes stopped flashing the man's eyes would ease open. After finishing off the last Sentinel she sat in a corner in utter exhaustion.

Pietro stared at her, "What was she doing?" he asked in confusion.

Stark leaned over to the teen, "She was removing the Sentinel programming from the Prime Sentinels," he said in a calm voice.

Pietro nodded, "Just by touching them?" he asked even more confused than usual.

Stark nodded with a small smile, "All she has to do is touch another machine to begin influencing it with her will," he rubbed his chin, "She is one sophisticated piece of machinery."

Pietro shot out of his seat, "She is not a machine, she is a human being," he said through clenched teeth.

"You're absolutely correct," a third voice echoed through out the room, "When creating my new Omega Sentinel, I must remember to avoid keeping the emotion centers of the brain in tact."

Stark rose to his feet, his face plate sliding down into place, "How did you…"

Bastion smirked at the Golden Avenger, "All of my limbs are capable of independent movement. I will not allow you to corrupt my creations, and allow those mutants to move freely about," he said as his hands began radiating with an intense white heat, "Your first move will be your last."


	7. Todd's Tongue?

-Wanda's room-

Wanda lied on her bed gasping for air. Her skin was coated in a thin sheet of sweat. Todd stood by her bedside, worry evident on his face, with a moist towel in hand patting her forehead.

Wanda's eyes still glow scarlet, "He's… being attacked," she whispered in between massive breaths of air.

She tried to sit up but Todd held her down, "You can't help him like this," he said, refraining from using all his might to protect her fragile body, "Give yourself a few minutes and send me."

St. John hovered above her body, 'Listen to the amphibian Sheila. You don't wanna be a loihability to him,' he stated with an all too serious tone.

Wanda closed her eyes for several minutes, thoroughly scaring each boy, until she finally opened her eyes to reveal huge sapphire orbs. Still panting she finally relaxed, or so it seemed. She began muttering a small chant.

Wanda suddenly stopped chanting and looked up at the green teen, "Go suit up," Todd only nodded in response and hopped out of the room.

'What were you muttering Sheila?' St John asked worry apparent in his voice.

Wanda got to her feet with a surprising swiftness. She threw off her clothes and put on her new scarlet Kevlar body suit that stretched to her neck. It resembled her old tights but with the added benefit of being bullet proof, and somewhat resistant to flames. She wrapped a black Kevlar corset around her chest and laced it up. She then pulled on new thigh high black boots, and her classic trench coat. Finally she reached into the drawer next to her bed and slipped on the flint mechanism for St. John.

Wanda adjusted her coat, "Fatigue spell. It gives me a burst of energy for a little more than two hours, but afterwards I'll be out cold for the next twenty four hours.

St. John descended upon her and assimilated into her body, "Well Sheila Oih think it's about toihme you conjured up some voodoo so we can help Speedy," he said flicking his wrist making several small sparks.

-Meanwhile at Stark Industries at Pietro's Speed-

In a relatively confined room, Pietro could only access a fraction of his true speed, if he was lucky. He had already leapt off the stool and two his feet. His next move involved throwing a certain clone over his shoulder, narrowly avoiding a white hot plasma burst.

The plasma burst made contact with the stool rendering it a smoldering puddle of liquid metal.

Pietro then dashed across the room and scooped the exhausted Sentinel woman under his arm. He dashed around the room in a desperate attempt to avoid white hot plasma.

-Regular Speed-

Bastion smiled at his accomplishment. With a few well aimed plasma blasts Pietro had been corralled between a large desk and a smoking crater.

"Two mutants and a traitor," Bastion said with a smirk, "It's days like these I'm glad I was given emotions," he approached the trio hands glowing white; he raised his arm ready to release the built up energy.

"Maybe they shoulda programmed you with a conscious," Fury yelled out as his trusty forty-five emptied four shells into the Sentinel's back.

Bastion's arms quit glowing and fell limp to his side, which caused Fury to smirk in satisfaction. That is until the four bullet wounds 'spit' out the bullets. Fury was left speechless as the slugs hit floor. Bastion turned to Fury and raised his left arm.

"I can not kill you," he said as his hand began to crack with electricity, "But I can make sure you stay out of my way," upon finishing his statement a bolt of raw electricity shot from his hand and into Fury's body, thoroughly frying his nervous system and rendering him unconscious.

Bastion then turned back to Pietro only now noticing that he was gone. He let his scanners do the searching and turned to his left where Stark still stood motionless.

Pietro stood directly in front of the man of iron, Stark's back to Bastion.

"Hey if you're the good guy why aren't you helping?" Pietro asked in a whisper as to avoid detection.

"That's an incredibly easy answer young Mr. Maximoff," Bastion said hovering a few feet above the ground, "While the Omega Sentinel must make physical contact with a machine to influence, all I must do is observe one," Pietro's jaw dropped in response, "Yes, any machine within my field of vision is a potential ally," He turned to the left an blasted a desk to dust, "Isn't that right Omega?"

Laura crouched next to Karima, holding her so she wouldn't be decorating the floor. Karima's eyes began glowing with an all too familiar red tint.

"Laura! Get away from her now!" Pietro yelled with urgency.

"What? Why?" she asked right before the Sentinel flung her across the room and into the silver-haired speedster.

"That's why… owe," he said as Laura got off of him.

Bastion began laughing in a traditionally villainous way, "Omega regain your position by my side and destroy them."

Karima smirked as her arm shifted into her famed sentinel cannon, "I'm going to enjoy this," she took several steps forwards, letting the cannon charge and gather heat as well as ambient energy, and only stopped until she was just short of being on top of the two mutant teens. She aimed her cannon, a hair's width away from either of their faces and… smiled?

"Huh?" both mutants said in unison.

She spun around, aimed, and fired.

Bastion let out a loud groan, "What… how? You're… under my control…" he said sporting a brand new hole in his mid-section.

Karima walked up to his twitching body, "You may be able to control machines but a dear friend helped me realize that I'm still human, and you can never control or take that away from me," she took great satisfaction in watching his eyes flicker until they finally extinguished. She then began to 

fall to the ground. She closed her eyes waiting for the cruel cold floor, but instead, she felt a warm inviting embrace. Pietro had caught her, and he held onto her. He held onto her like a frightened child might hold onto his bear during a thunderstorm.

"Are you always going to catch me when I fall?" she asked as he stood up straight.

"You're in the Brotherhood now, you have to get used to falling," he said with a smirk, "But I guess it would be okay to catch you a few times."

She chuckled, "I can't lift my arms," she said in between calm breaths of air.

Laura rolled her eyes, "Can we go home now?" she asked.

Pietro looked at the young woman and smiled, "Sure, hop in my arms and we'll…" he was swiftly interrupted as Laura pushed him to the side, sending him on a trip to the floor.

"What the hell!" he yelled in frustration. Pietro was quickly silenced as a Repulsar beam made contact with Laura sending her flying across the room and into the wall leaving a massive dent, "What's your problem!" Pietro yelled springing to his feet and launching a barrage of punches.

When Pietro finally stopped he looked down at his now damaged hands. Several small cuts and scrapes lined his knuckles.

He heard chuckling from the floor, "With my final moments of consciousness I will force this man who fancies himself a machine to destroy the Lehnsherr bloodline," Bastion said barely clinging to life.

Iron Man raised both hands and prepared to deliver a devastating blast. While, Pietro positioned himself in front of Laura, and he pushed Karima behind him, ready to take the full force of the blast.

"Then you might want to destroy the entire cheerleading squad and half of the X-Women, because my brother is a man whore."

Pietro smiled as he saw his sister and Todd standing behind the Golden Avenger. He then furrowed his brow, "Hey!"

Todd leapt over the resident genius, and stood by Pietro's side, "What's goin' on in here yo?" Todd asked looking at the carnage and destruction.

"Same thing that happens when the Brotherhood goes to the library," Pietro said with a shrug.

Todd nodded in understanding, "Gotcha, got drunk, picked a fight with the librarian, didn't count on the janitor jumping in."

"Iron Sentinel, destroy them all!" Bastion yelled from the floor.

As Iron Man raised his arms to attack a massive fireball impacted his back, "I'm your opponent now."

Iron Man turned to face Wanda, and caught another fireball with his jaw.

"It isn't workin' Sheila," St. John said throwing another fireball at him.

Wanda smirked and raised her hand, "You did your job," her hand began swirling with scarlet chaos magic and a blue hex bolt. They swirled around each other and finally met in the middle of her palm forming a purple hybrid. "Catch," she said gently tossing the new orb at him.

As it impacted him the Iron Man armor began to crack and rust. Metal and circuits hit the floor revealing a well toned man.

"Thank you," Stark said panting, "I… couldn't control it," he then turned to face Pietro, "Is she okay?"

Pietro slung the downed clone over his shoulder, "Yeah sure," he looked to his sister, "Wanda, let's get her home."

Wanda only nodded, "The sooner the better, we have to back up Lance," she stated as a scarlet light began to swirl around the five teen, ending only when they were safely on their way home.

Stark slowly got to his feet, "I could have killed her," he said in shame.

"But the point is you didn't. Learn from your mistake, create a program that even you can't hack," Stark looked up to see Fury leaning against the wall, "By the way how would you like to work on a secret project with me?"

-Meanwhile in upstate New York-

The mighty Challenger roared down the highway. Lance in the driving seat, and his father riding shotgun.

Julio hung his arm out of the window, "You've got one hell of a ride, Lance."

Regan rolled her eyes from the back seat, "Give me a break," she said with contempt in her voice.

Todd then shot out from the back seat and began fiddling with the radio, "How's about some music?"

Lance peeked an eyebrow, "Since when don't you use your tongue to flip the station?"


	8. Raven's Deceit

-Several minutes later in a church parking lot-

Lance and Julio snuck through the parking lot as quickly and quietly as they possibly could. They would occasionally duck behind parked cars and vans when ever they saw a guard or a robbed priest. Lance and Julio pressed their backs against a van, making sure to stay in the shadowed part to avoid detection, while two guards exchanged words they couldn't quite hear.

Lance clenched a fist, "I should take them both out," he said in a low voice.

Julio grabbed his son's arm, "No," he said in a stern voice, "They make contact with each other every five minutes to make sure nothing is out of the ordinary."

Lance only rolled his eyes, he would have much rather have brought the whole building down. As we all know the Brotherhood boys are far from finesse players.

Julio noticing his son's scowl dragged him to another hiding space, "What does that woman teach you?" he questioned, "Do you know anything about stealth, finesse, control?"

Lance was being scolded, Lance hated being scolded. In fact, the only thing Lance hates more than being scolded was being scolded by an X-geek, "Hey she taught us how to survive," he said in an angry tone.

Julio started laughing.

"What? Why are you laughing?" Lance asked in frustration.

Julio shook his head, "It's just that…" he laughed again, "You have so much faith in this woman."

"Why shouldn't I?" Lance was steadily losing his cool.

Julio sighed, "When ever you get the chance ask your new 'mother' what her relationship to Victor Creed was," he said with a feint smirk.

"Sabretooth?" Lance questioned, "What did she do with Sabretooth?"

"I'll leave that for her to answer, but I can tell you what… no, who resulted from it," Lance looked at him expectantly, "Graydon Creed."

Lance was positive that if he was a cartoon character his jaw would have hit the ground and dug all the way to China.

Julio's smirk grew, "I take it she neglected to mention that," he said with great arrogance.

Lance simply pushed past him and slipped into the church between a guard change, Julio followed closely behind a smirk still present on his face.

-Meanwhile on the roof-

Todd and Regan walked the length of the roof, surveying any possible way they could infiltrate the building. They had agreed that evacuating the building would cause just enough chaos to allow Lance and Julio the time necessary to topple the last two leaders of the purifiers.

But unbeknownst to both people, two very yellow, very feral eyes watched their movements.

Todd walked to the heating vents and reached into a small pouch on his belt, "Did you find a way in yet?" he asked Regan.

Regan looked at the younger teen with a look of confusion on her face, "Yeah we can propel down and break through the stained glass," she said never taking her eyes off the young man, "What are you doing?" she questioned.

Todd never turned his gaze away from the vent shaft in front of him, "Evacuating the building," he proceeded to toss several small pellets into the vent.

Regan could barely hear the pellets breaking against the metallic blades of the fan. Then to her surprise a column of smoke shot out of the vent.

"Let's go," he said grabbing her arm and reaching for her grappling gun. He shot the spear like hook into the roof and jumped off of the roof. As momentum and gravity took over their bodies, the rope swung them into the building through the stain glass display, Todd's body taking much of the brunt force.

After rolling on a catwalk slowing their momentum, Regan shot to her feet and grabbed her comrade, "What the hell is your problem?" she asked in a world of pissed she didn't find attractive at all.

Todd wretched his Kevlar shirt from her grasp, "Hurry up, we have to find Julio before Lance can complete his mission," he said as he began walking off, "Make sure you turn on your comm. link."

Regan looked at her shorter comrade in complete an utter shock.

-A few minutes later in the church hallways-

Lance dove behind a large stone pillar as several guards and Purifier members ran past him. He smiled as smoke emanated from the vents. There was no heat or fire, but the need for survival made sure that no one other than the assembled team.

"Smoke bombs," he said with a smirk as he began moving down the hallway again, "Never thought I'd ever find a use for them after tossing a few into the girl's locker room."

"That's my boy," a voice came from the comm. device in his ear, "Now take a left at the next fork, and then head towards the massive double doors, Stryker should still be in there."

"You can't make sure from the surveillance room?" he asked.

"There aren't cameras in the any of the suites," Julio said sternly, "But I'm positive that Stryker and Creed are not together."

"Fine," Lance said as he finally made it to the door, "I'm going in."

As Lance extended his arm to grab the door knob he immediately noticed a pink light radiating around the doors through the cracks between the doors and the floor, walls, and ceiling.

"Oh crap," Lance said as the doors exploded in front of him sending him flying back into the hallway.

"Little mutant sheep shouldn't wonder into the wolf den," said a man wearing a long brown rob, that had a white cross on his chest the extended the full length of the robe. The robe was held closed by a snug white sash.

Lance looked closer at the man and noticed that the right sleeve had been ripped off. He couldn't figure out why as the man had shifted his position to hide his right arm from view.

"Lance you have to watch out for his right arm," Julio's voice echoed in his son's ear.

Lance, still lying on the ground, extended his arm and began forcing the ground to shake violently.

The man smirked, "The day Reverend William Stryker is caught off guard by a mutant is the day the Purifiers abandon their mission from God," He finally shifted his position and stuck his right arm straight out for Lance to see, thoroughly leaving the young mutant teen speechless.

The arm was robotic in nature, and heavily armored. It was pure white at the moment, and the forearm was massive, making Stryker's arm stretch all the way down to his knee. Then to cap everything off his hand only had three fingers and a thumb.

"Do you like it?" Stryker asked as the light hit the arm giving it a slight pink sheen, "I designed it myself," a pink ball of energy began forming in his palm, "It was part of the Nimrod prototype, but I deemed it too bulky to be properly concealed," he then shot at Lance, but Lance quickly rolled out of the way, "Oh the operation was painful, removing an arm, then attaching what was left of my nerve endings to a mechanical substitute, but it was deemed quite necessary."

Lance ducked behind a pillar, but Stryker shot at it rendering it rubble.

"You see, Lance, I know exactly who you are," he shot another pink blast at Lance but he used his powers to make a tidal wave of dirt to take the brunt of the blast, but it still hit Lance sending him into the corner, "You're Julio's demon son, and now that I have you cornered, I'm going to do what he never could," his hand began glowing pink again, "Any last words?" he asked with a sick smirk.

"Go to Hell," Lance said with his own smirk.

Stryker's face contorted into anger and he released the blast at point blank range kicking up dust and rubble. The smirked returned to his face, "Takes care of you."

Suddenly, the ground began shaking violently, and Lance shot out of the dust to deliver a savage haymaker to the Reverend, sending him flying back several feet.

Stryker nursed his injured lip and pride as he got to his feet, "How?" he asked in disbelief, firing off a few more blasts in desperation.

Lance smirked as the blasts deflected off his shield, "See I fight a guy who's got a concussive blast like yours on almost a weekly basis," his hand shot out causing jagged stones to impact the wounded Reverend, "The only difference is that while yours can break a part a pillar and kick up some dirt, his can level an entire mountain," Lance grabbed the Reverend's arm and began channeling his seismic energy into it causing it to spark, "Now I hate to admit it, but he's one of the few people that can make me go all out," armor plating began to crack and fall off as circuits began exploding, "And you… you aren't even in his weight class," Lance said as he poured more energy into the task, "You're not even a decent workout compared to him," as Lance finished his statement the arm exploded leaving everything below the elbow in complete ruin on the floor, "Remember that next time you want to take my species on, we're made of better stuff."

As Lance began walking away he could hear something coming in over him comm. link.

"You just used him!"

-Meanwhile in the surveillance room-

Julio watched as his son began issuing a savage beating to his former partner. He sat back in the chair with a wide grin decorating his face. As we watched his son's fight he though if a father could be any more proud of his only son than he was right now.

"I know everything," a voice came from behind the older Mexican male.

Julio whirled around and eyes Todd, "You know nothing boy," he said with agitation.

Todd smirked as he began walking forward; he amphibian skin began to shift. It became blue and his short spiky hair grew down to his shoulders and adopted a red tint. Toad was never on the mission, it had always been Mystique.

Raven smirked at the shocked man, "I know you're not Lance's father."


	9. Broken Bonds

-Meanwhile at the Brotherhood Boarding House, Laura's senses-

Laura breathed in and out, in a rhythmic pace. She lay on Pietro's bed staring at the ceiling. Her healing factor was working at a snails pace. Normally she would have healed within seconds but something, or possibly someone was hindering it. She tried to sit up but a wave of pain pushed her back into a laying position.

"Pain," She scoffed, but after a moment her face softened, "Owe."

Few people realized that although you may posses the greatest healing ability in the world, it does very little to dull the pain of say, a bullet ripping through your flesh and shattering your bones.

She realized early on that her senses and healing ability far surpassed her 'father's.' She smiled; she knew the exact reason her powers were stronger and more efficient. His adamantium skeleton, although it provided him with an unparalleled defense, it also hindered his healing factor, as too much of the indestructible metal was poisonous to a normal man, thus forcing his healing factor to work overtime.

Luckily, if you could call it that, she escaped before they could coat her own skeleton. The Adamantium she had in her own body wouldn't even poison an infant. She unsheathed her claws, and then sheathed them, in an attempt to gauge her progress. The wounds her claws caused when they sliced through the flesh between her knuckles healed at a normal rate, so why won't the rest of her body heal?

"Iron Man is not a push over," she said, wincing as even talking was becoming taxing to her damaged body.

She continued to lie on the bed, trying to deduce why she was taking so long to heal. When all of a sudden she heard a faint whisper came from the darkness.

She closed her eyes, almost immediately heightening her hearing.

"Laura," the voice called out.

"Get to the point," she said with a scowl, "I know you're the one that was talking to Amara."

"But how could you know? I was in her mind," the voice sounded more intrigued than surprised.

"True, but you were also in the mansion," she said with disinterest, "Just like you're in the room now."

A tall intimidating figure stepped forward, still immersed in the shadows, "Clever girl," the figure's eyes began glowing red, "Join me and I can give you back your stability."

"I can do it on my own," she said in anger, her eyes remaining closed.

"You don't know what… who is causing it do you?" the figure questioned with a slight smirk. Laura paused, "Quicksilver, your infatuation with that boy is hindering your abilities. You've never felt these feelings before, and the inner turmoil you're going through is impacting your body," he paused, "Making you weak."

Laura's eyes shot open. No one called X-23 weak and lived to tell the tale. She unsheathed her claws and leapt to her feet slashing wildly at the shadow, until her injuries caught up to her. Blood began trickling from her mouth, "Is he… really causing this?" she asked, small spurts of a blood coming from her mouth as she spoke.

A knock came at the door, "Laura, are you awake?"

"Come in Pietro," she called out.

-Meanwhile downstairs-

Pietro sat on the couch next to his sister, while Todd sat on the other couch that was pushed against the far wall.

Wanda fingered the comm. link in her hand, "Regan said that they're doing fine," she paused, "We really need to check on Freddy," she said looking at her brother.

"Okay," Pietro said getting to his feet, "Just let me check on the girls first," he then sped to his room.

"Lance is the only one that doesn't know?" Todd asked as he leapt to his feet.

Wanda nodded, "He'll know soon enough," she paused for a moment, "Wish I knew where Raven got all of her information from."

"Yeah," Todd said making his way to the door, "She just always seems to know, doesn't she?"

-Back in the Surveillance Room-

Julio smirked at the blue shape-shifter, eyeing her in a way she never liked to be looked at. It wasn't a look of hatred or even lust; it was almost murderous, not quite feral as in the case of Sabretooth but more perverse, more like he would enjoy nothing more than ripping out her throat and licking the steady flow of blood.

She returned the smirk, she knew whoever he was, he could never harm or violate her in any way that Sabretooth has. Her cheeks flushed pink, not to say she didn't enjoy it, but such thoughts should remain out of her current situation.

"Of course I'm Julio Esteban Richter," he said, without blinking, "Who else would I be?"

Raven's smirk grew, she caught, "I never questioned who you were," Julio flinched, "But I know who you really are as well."

Julio released a small tremor, "How?"

Raven steadied herself, and fixed a glare of her own on him, "I swallowed some pride and asked an old acquaintance to borrow his telepath," she said never taking an eye off of him, "Calvin Montgomery Rankin, also known as the Mimic, who else did you kill?"

"Well at least now I can drop the phony Mexican accent. I'm sure now you want an explanation," he said crossing his arms in the process.

"You just used him!" she exclaimed, "There is no need to explain anything! You harm one of my boys and I will personally break you in half!"

Calvin smirked, as his body began to expand and grow. Muscles sprouted all over his body, "John Proudstar, Thunderbird; Kevin Sydney, The Changeling; Julio Esteban Richter, Rictor," he said each name as someone would name an entrée, "All made fantastic meals."

Raven almost flinched. Those men were just meals to him. She sighed, "Lance deserved a father and all he got was you," armor plating began growing on her body, "I usually hate getting my hands dirty, 

but I'll make an exception for you," she leapt forward, but was easily flung back by Calvin's superior strength.

"Thunderbird," he sent out a small tremor knocking Raven off balance, "Rictor," as he spoke their names his facial features would shift to match the stolen powers, "Changeling, you have no chance!" he sent a tidal wave of Earth at the blue woman slamming her into the wall.

She slowly rose to her feet, "Four years, his personality was so strong it compelled you to stay with them for four years," she said as her hands shifted into talons and spikes grew out of her back and shoulders. She leapt at him again.

"This attack again?" he asked with a smirk.

She shifted in mid-air to avoid being flung back again, "With a twist," she said, then swiped at his face. Her claws scraped against his face drawing a steady amount of blood. Raven's arms fell to her side as she witnessed the gashes across his face heal over.

"Did I neglect to mention I've mastered every aspect of my powers?" he said with a smirk, growing sharp claws of his own. He slashed at her thigh and midsection, and then with a powerful kick sent her flying into the wall, "I already have one shape shifter in my arsenal," he stepped towards her with a lust filled gaze, "I guess I'll just have to take something else from you."

Raven smirked, "I don't think Lance would like that," she said looking past him.

"That's the beauty of it; he'll never find out," he took a step toward her and threw out his arms in classic Avalanche fashion, "Congratulations, you're going to be a martyr to your people."

Suddenly a tremor ripped through the building sending chunks of ceiling and wall to the ground. Calvin took a step back. This was far beyond anything he could ever hope to create. As realization hit him he spun around, and came face to face with Lance Dominic Alvers, the Walking Landslide, now known as Avalanche.

Calvin shuddered as he saw the murderous glare coming from the teen's eyes, "Should've known," with a sneer on his face Lance did something with his powers Raven never thought he could be capable of. He stepped forward with a stomp to the ground with his right foot sending a tidal wave of jagged rocks forward, while clapping his hands together and then throwing both of them to his left effectively moving Raven out of harms way.

Raven limped to her son's side, "I'm impressed," she said clutching her thigh in pain.

Lance continued to look forward. He wasn't doing this to impress Raven, he wasn't doing it to protect the Brotherhood, and he wasn't doing it to please his wife, no, this was for every little boy who ever felt neglected, who never had a father, who was ever hurt by someone who was supposed to protect them. This was for them, and probably most of all, himself.

He glared at the man across the room, the man pinned to a wall by an unmoving wall of solid rock, the man responsible for ruining Lance's life. Lance's muscles tensed. He held the rock in place by sheer force of will, with no signs of fatigue in sight, "You're just not worth it," he said thoroughly shocking everyone in the room. He slammed his foot into the ground, sending another wave of rock at the imprisoned man, taking away any hope of freedom.

Lance pulled Raven's arm around him, allowing her to place most of her weight on him, "A shape shifter's healing ability is nothing compared to a real healing factor," she smirked, "You'll learn that soon enough."

As the two mutants were leaving the room, Regan ran up to them, "I got the book and the sword," she said, as Lance scooped Raven into his arms and they began running down the corridors.

"What about Creed?" Lance asked.

"Something…" Regan paused for a moment, "Got to him first, ripped him in half. It was… disgusting."

Raven sighed, "Sabretooth," she said with a hint of remorse in her voice.

"So it's true?" Lance asked.

Raven couldn't discern any emotions from the boy, so she settled on telling him the truth, "Yes, he was my first born son."

After Raven's statement, the ran out of the building in silence, only pausing so Lance could crumble the foundation and cause the building to implode on itself. They watched it all from an alley.

"Lance," Raven said, "I'm very proud of you."

"You said you knew a telepath who got you the information," Lance stated.

Raven nodded, "Yes, Exodus. He works for Magneto."

"Can you tell me about my dad?" he asked.


	10. The Marauders?

-A few minutes later at the Boarding House-

Karima sat on the couch in front of her lap top. She wore only a sports bra and a pair of bike short. Her right arm was directly connected to various ports on the computer while her left hand flew across the keyboard, as her eyes darted back and forth taking in as much information as her cybernetically enhanced brain could.

Wanda sat next to the bionic woman and stared for a moment, but neither woman would be the first to speak in this particular household.

"What are you doin' Sheila, troihin' to get rid of some spam?" St. John asked.

Karima kept her eyes fixated on the screen, "Several of my cybernetic files have been corrupted," she said in a monotone voice, "I'm attempting to isolate them, repair, and finally reinstall them."

"So… it is spam," Wanda said with a peeked eyebrow and a smile on her face.

Karima let a small smile cross her face, "You could say that," the computer began beeping and the screen flashed several times, "I'm one hundred percent virus free," she said with a feint smile.

"At least we know who the calm one is," St. John said with a nod.

Wanda furrowed her brow, "What do you mean by that?" she asked in confusion.

"Well Regan's the rude sarcastic one; Wanda, you're the voiholent and angry one; Karima's the serious and calm one; and Dad's the one that'll kill us all in our sleep," St. John said in a completely serious tone.

"It's scary when he makes sense," Karima said in complete shock.

Wanda could only nod in agreement.

-A few hours later in Lance and Regan's room-

Lance sat on his bed holding his wallet. He stared at it for a few minutes before finally opening it. Regan's face made him smile. It was a picture of their Wedding ceremony. The Brotherhood all cleaned up wearing tuxedos and a dress in Wanda's case, and the happy bride and groom in the middle.

He turned the flap to reveal another picture. This one was of the five original Brotherhood members; Todd, Lance, Anna, Freddy, and Pietro. Each person was in a pose that fairly represented their personality. Todd was several feet in the air with a large toothy smile. Lance pinching the bridge of his nose totally annoyed at the entire situation. Anna stood in the middle with her arms crossed across her chest, with a small smile on her face. Freddy stood behind everyone giving a slightly shy smile. And finally Pietro stood to Anna's left running his fingers through his hair with his classic Quicksilver smirk in his face.

Lance then flipped that flap over too, to reveal the Brotherhood minus Anna, plus Wanda and St. John. Lance chuckled; the Brotherhood boys were all on the floor while Wanda stood proudly over them, her hands still glowing with a blue hex bolt.

Finally he looked around the room to make sure he was alone before he slid a picture out from behind the current picture.

The picture was old, but the couple in the picture was very young. They didn't look any older than Lance was right now. He smiled. The couple consisted of a beautiful Mexican woman with a kind face. Although the picture was faded her eyes still seemed to be piercing and intelligent. Next to her Julio had an arm wrapped around her waist, holding her somewhat possessively.

"Dad," Lance said to the picture, "I'm sorry for hating you all these years…" he paused for a moment, "Raven said you were a good and honest man. That you worked hard, and that you had a bad temper," Lance laughed, "I guess we got that in common," Lance smiled surreally, "She said you'd do anything to protect the people you loved, I'm glad we have that in common too," he put the picture back in its place, "I hope I made you proud."

Lance got to his feet, and shoved his wallet into his back pocket. He then made his way to the hallway, and down the stairs. He paused at the entrance to the living room, and stared at his new family crowded around the coffee table.

Were they related by blood? No, they weren't, but to Lance it didn't matter. They were outcasts, thugs, and hoodlums born and bred.

Brotherhood, they'd always known but sometimes you just need a spark. Something to remind you that nothing is simpler than brotherhood. That when your body hits the mat, bloody and bruised, you can always count on your brothers to pick you back up.

"Hey Lance!"

Lance snapped out of his thoughts and looked at the youngest person in the house, a person he was proud to call a brother in arms, "Yeah, Todd?" he asked.

"Your wife… has something to tell you," Todd said, as the rest of the Brotherhood began laughing.

"Regan, what are they talking about?" he asked with a confused look on his face.

"I…" she paused for a moment, "I think I'm pregnant Lance," she said hurriedly.

Lance's eyes went wide then he feinted.

"All right I won the pool!" Todd exclaimed.

"That's not fair. With his anger issues, he should have shaken the house off its foundation," Karima said somewhat unsatisfied.

"Oih though he was gonna give himself an aneurism," St. John said poking Lance's foot, "What did you have Sheila?"

Wanda shook her head, "He was supposed to disappoint her and say something insensitive like, 'oh crap,'" she said with a grin on her face.

Pietro hopped onto the couch and leaned back, "Doesn't matter now, Todd won," he said with an indifferent tone.

"What did you have?" Wanda asked.

"That he would be supportive," the Brotherhood members stared at him, "I went for the long shot, sue me," he explained.

The esteemed members of the Brotherhood were brought back to attention by a loud slapping noise followed by a grunt.

The Brotherhood watched as Lance rubbed his aching cheek.

"I had the weirdest dream," Lance said getting into a sitting position, "You were pregnant," he said with a small chuckle.

Regan glared at him, with large glowing white eyes.

"Oh," he said, "I thought you were on the…"

Regan immediately cut him off, "Apparently I forgot to take one of the pills, and now here we are," she said annoyed at the entire situation.

"What do we do?" Lance asked.

Regan glared at him again.

"Right," he said, "Boys we're going to the drug store," he got to his feet, "Johnny you stay here… 'cause honestly I don't know how to categorize you right now."

St. John only nodded, as Lance and the rest of the boys left the house.

-Outside in the driveway-

The boy made their way to Lance's prized Challenger. Lance paused in front of the car for a few moments, staring at the keys in his hand.

"Lance, you okay?" Pietro asked.

"Yeah," Lance said barely above a whisper, "Hey Todd, why don't you drive this time?" Lance tossed the keys, which proceeded to hit Todd in his shocked face.

-A few minutes later, on the streets of Bayville-

The Challenger roared down the empty street. At this hour few would be awake, but in all honesty the Brotherhood Boys of Bayville didn't feel up to the task of talking to anyone. They were currently a man down, and the hospital had already banned them from entering, until the following day, when Freddy would be cleared for release.

Todd pulled into the drug store parking lot, and parked right in front of the store.

Lance opened the door and looked at his brothers, "You guys want anything?" he asked.

Both teens shook their heads, and Lance left into the store.

"If she's pregnant there are going to be some serious changes," Pietro said as he watched Lance enter the store.

"Yeah, we ain't gonna be able to drink ourselves stupid anymore…" he paused, "Should we stop anyways?" he asked, "You know for health reasons."

Pietro shrugged, "Probably, our mutations are physical, so it wouldn't be a bad idea," he said looking up to watch three people wearing masks run into the store, "Hey lets back up, Lance."

-Inside the store-

Lance now had his hands in the air. He had a small smirk on his face as the three people kept waving guns in his face and in the face of the clerk.

"Just give us the money old man," Robber number one pleaded rather than demanded.

Lance emitted a steady tremor, gradually increasing in intensity.

"What's going on?" the female robber asked in freight.

"It's him! It's gotta be him!" Robber number two exclaimed, no pointing his gun at Lance's face.

All three robbers pointed their weapons at Lance, "You guys must be new in town," Lance said with a smirk.

Robber number one took a step back, "How do you know?" he asked.

Lance let his hands drop to his side, "Cause if you were from around here you'd know that the Brotherhood runs these streets," the words came from his mouth as more of a warning than as a boast.

Robber number two grinned, "Well, I think you've ruled for long enough," all three robbers shot at once, but to their utter shock Lance was unharmed.

"He told you we run these streets."

The three robbers looked to the side and saw Pietro leaning against a chip rack. He tossed the three slugs onto the floor.

Before the three robbers could fire any more rounds off three shots of slime covered there hands and weapons, making it next to impossible to pull the trigger. Then to cap off their day Pietro sped around the wrapping them with a long extension cord, effectively hindering escape.

Lance walked to the clerk, and handed him some cash, "You gonna be okay until the cops show up?" he asked putting his purchase into a brown paper bag. The clerk only nodded as the boys left the store, got into the car, and sped off down the street.

Robber number two looked up, and pulled a large buck knife from his boot, making short work of the cord. All three robbers got to their feet. They all removed their masks. The woman had long flowing green hair.

"Why couldn't we use our powers?" she asked.

"Quiet Vertigo," a man with a build even larger than Lance, but quite bald said, "We did our job."

Vertigo snorted, "But if we could have used our powers, we wouldn't have had to waste our time, Blockbuster," she said utterly annoyed.

The third man came up behind both of them and slung his arms around their shoulders, "Come on now, Sinister wouldn't like us to kill his guinea pigs," the man said, his face, as well as the rest of his body, made of prism said.

"Shut up, Prism," Blockbuster and Vertigo said in unison.

"Fine, fine," Prism held his hands up in defeat, "But what do we do with the clerk?" he asked.

Blockbuster smirked as he walked up to the clerk, who was still frozen in fear. He cocked back his arm and punched the clerk splattering him across the wall, "What clerk?" he asked.

"Oh its good to be back!" Prism exclaimed, "The Marauders are gonna clean up!"

"Please, shut up," Vertigo said pinching the bridge of her nose, "We still have to shadow those kids."

With that they left the scene of their crime and ventured out into the night, to stalk our beloved heroes.


	11. Sinister Angel

-A few minutes later at the Boarding House-

Pietro, Lance, and Todd walked back into the house. Lance was quickly met with a glare as Regan walked up to him snatched the bag in his hand, and then stomped up the stairs.

Lance sighed, "Do we have school tomorrow?" he asked.

Todd leaned against the entry way to the living room, "Yeah," he examined his leader closely, "Gonna be a long day ain't it?"

Lance only nodded as he too made his was up the stairs.

After Lance's form disappeared up the stairs, Pietro and Todd walked into the living room. They sat on the couch and began flipping through various channels until Wanda entered the room.

She had large black bags under her eyes and she looked as if she had just run a marathon, "Pietro, can I talk to you?" she asked.

Pietro nodded and got to his feet. He then followed his twin sister up the stairs and down the hall to her room.

Wanda opened the door and Pietro closed it after both teens entered. Wanda lay on her bed and pulled the blankets up to her shoulders.

"Pietro?" she asked, "Why didn't you wait for me? Why did you take that girl? Is it that I can't keep up?" her voice shook with worry.

Pietro sighed. He knew eventually this topic would come up. He peered out of the window for a moment, and deduced that in a few short hours they would have to go to school.

"Its not that I didn't want to wait, its just I thought that if it was just the two of us we could sneak in find her and I could just sped us out before anyone even knew we were there," he gave her the Patented Brotherhood Smile of Innocence, "Guess I should have known that nothing ever goes smoothly for us."

Wanda gave him a slight smile, "Pietro, I'm not going to be awake for a day or two… Side effect of the Fatigue Spell… Tell Freddy I'm glad he's okay…" her eyes closed.

Pietro waited for a moment, until he heard a light snore come from his now sleeping sister, "Night Wanda," he said as he placed a light kiss on her forehead, "You're the only one that can ever keep up."

-Meanwhile outside the Brotherhood Bathroom-

Lance sat in front of the door. He turned to the side and watched as Pietro and Wanda walked into her room.

"A three minute test," he said with a hint of anger, "Stupid scientists."

Lance had told her that she missed her period a few weeks ago, which thoroughly sickened Lance. He had deduced that it would sicken any man, but that wasn't the topic right now. She said that it wasn't uncommon for a woman to miss a period, but when she saw that her dial dispenser had one lonely pill still in it, she flipped out.

So now, Lance sat on the cold wooden floor, waiting to see if he would become a father or if his loving and adoring wife would castrate him in his sleep.

The door opened suddenly and Lance fell backwards hitting his head on the linoleum floor. His wife looked down at him a cold glare fixated on him.

The only thing he could think of to do was give her the Patented Brotherhood Smile of Innocence.

"Oh don't give me that smile you idiot," she said in an extremely agitated tone.

"You're pregnant?" he asked with an honest smile.

Her face softened considerably, "No."

Lance shot to his feet and wrapped her in his arms, "Hey, its okay I don't think we're ready yet," he said in a reassuring voice.

"Me either," she said with a smile on her face, "Do you think we'd make good parents?" she asked staring into Lance brown eyes.

He kissed her on the forehead, "Yeah," he looked into her eyes, "As long as we have each other."

Pietro then walked past the loving couple, "I'm pretty sure that will lead to this situation repeating itself," he said with a smirk.

"Shut up, Pietro!" Regan and Lance yelled in unison.

-Pietro's room-

Laura laid on the bed, in a vain attempt to sleep. She didn't know why, its not as if she had to go to school in the morning. Not that she didn't have the proper documents, 'they,' as she liked to call them, made sure to secure her a legitimate birth certificate and social security number, for the government was more prone to ask questions if they thought someone with a ghost-like status existed.

She turned onto her side as soon as Pietro opened the door, she could hear the exchange in the hallway. She looked down the bed and at the speedster.

She watched as Pietro pulled off his shirt and threw it in the corner. She watched as he then slid off his pants and did the same. Then she watched as he walked to the dresser in front of her and pulled out some pajama bottoms and quickly pulled them on.

Finally, he walked around the bed and Laura felt the added weight to the mattress as he sat down, then lay down, and finally pulled the blanket over both of their bodies.

She smiled at the situation, he wasn't exactly making any physical contact with her, but they were sharing the same bed. And it was all she needed, that little spark of reassurance.

A surprised look took over her face as he scooted closer to her, their backs pressed together. Her cheeks were actually burning, but soon it too turned into a smile.

That is of course, until he turned and snaked an arm around her waist, pulling her just a little closer to his body. She closed her eyes and let the utter shock fade. She let it fade and be replaced by content.

Suddenly, she felt very sleepy. She couldn't explain it. Was it the warmth of having someone next to her? Was it the safety of having someone actually looking out for and taking care of her? Or, could it have been that she finally didn't feel alone?

The last thing she could clearly remember was Pietro resting his head into the crook of her neck.

-Meanwhile across town at the X-Mansion-

Throughout the mansion peace and silence reigned supreme, if one didn't know better, one may be able to make the assumption that each of the occupants was fast asleep in his or her individual room.

But of course that's not the case, for in this particular mansion, down a particular hall, in a particular room, occupied by a particular boy, peace, nor rest for that matter, was not on the agenda for the night.

The room held the standard luxuries, a bed, a dresser, and a desk. But one thing unique to the room, was a metallic bar hanging from the ceiling in the middle of the room.

From this bar hung a boy… no a man. A man with a muscular body, toned specifically for endurance. Using only his arms he would pull his body up, until his chin was raised higher than the bar itself.

But the act of exercising in itself isn't strange, for every student in this particular institute trains to become stronger and more adept with using his or her gift. The gift some can destroy mountains with the blink of an eye, while others walk through them, and others, still, can simply lift said mountain. The one thing that makes this particular student unique isn't an optic blast, intangibility, or strength.

Wings, this student has two large angelic wings protruding from his back, but like a certain speedster there is more to his gift than simply flight. He is the perfect machine for flight, a hollow bone structure, superhuman respiratory system, unparalled eyesight; all aspects of his enhanced physiology. His name is Warren Worthington III, known to the X-Men as the high flying Angel.

He did several more repetitions, more than any normal man can ever accomplish. Sweat dripped from his body and landed in small pools on the floor.

"Over compensating are we?" a sinister voice asked from behind the winged young man, "Is it because you're significantly weaker than even the she-wolf?"

Warren lost his grip and quickly made contact with the floor, but instead of having his feet firmly on the ground, he slipped on his own sweat and hit the ground with a thud. After a moment, Warren pushed himself off the floor, revealing a long bleeding gash above his right eye. He turned to face the voice, and came face to face with none other than Mister Sinister.

Sinister smirked at the boy, but his smile swiftly turned into surprised, "So you've developed an accelerated healing factor?" Sinister questioned as he watched as the gash closed over the course of seconds, "Join me," he said, with a renewed smirk.

Warren wiped the blood from his brow, "Never," he said defiantly.

Sinister crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, "That's perfectly acceptable; it is your choice to make. I've already persuaded two of your comrades," he said the last part more to himself.

Warren shot into a standing position, "What? Who?" He asked in a threatening voce, expanding his wings to create more of an intimidation factor.

Sinister stared at the boy, "The fire princess, and the clone," he stated indifferently.

Warren's facial features softened and his wings fell into an almost depressed slump, "I will join you," he whispered.

Sinister smirked, "But I haven't even made you an offer," he feigned surprised.

"I'm not joining for your personal gain," Warren expanded his wings again; "I'm joining, to take care of Laura and Amara."

"Fine," Sinister said, "I will collect the three of you soon, and do make sure to keep it a secret, those two young women have far more to lose than you could possibly understand," Sinister said as he faded into the shadows.

Warren clenched his blood stained towel in anger, "There's more to life than power."


	12. Phoenix Rising

St. John Fernando Allerdyce walked through the streets of Sydney Australia. He wore his typical civilian clothing, which consisted of blue jeans, a pair of black boots, and a loose red t-shirt.

As he looked around at all of the buildings and people, a small smile crept onto his face.

He shoved his hands into his pockets, "Oih'm home," he said throwing his head into the air, to stare into the sky.

He paused on the sidewalk and looked around frantically, "Somethin' ain't roihght here," he continued walking, casting sharp glances at everyone he passed.

He stopped at a street corner waiting for a chance to cross. Then it happened, something physically impossible, it was so improbable, he should have been bitten by a shark while being struck by lightning, in the middle of a mall.

"Where'd everybody go?" he asked as he turned his head in every direction possible to find some form of life. He then looked down at his feet, "Holy Hell!" he began hopping into the air in a vain attempt to stay off the ground. The ground around his feet began turning into various shades of grey. He looked around at the buildings and colorful signs as each began losing their color.

He dropped to his knees in shock, "Oih've… gone back to Hell…"

Suddenly the ground began to crack and finally shattered. He was the plunged into an abyss of cold darkness.

He fell deeper and deeper into his own despair. He closed his eyes as he continued to fall, feeling the cold wind slap him in the face and rip through his hair. But after a few more seconds he hit something solid. He opened his eyes and stared at the one person who could fix everything, "Wanda."

She sat in a chair in the middle of the black nothingness. Her legs were crossed, and her elbow rested on her knee, while her chin rested on her hand, "Hi John," she said in a monotone voice, "You really miss Sydney, don't you?" she asked with a somewhat curious expression on her face.

"How'd ya know it was Sydney?" he answered with a confused look plastered on his own face.

"We share one mind, things tend to bleed over," she said with a shrug.

"Well aren't you enthusiastic?" he asked sarcastically.

"We're stuck here for the next twenty-four hours," she stood up, "So I suggest you start being more interesting, before I start passing the time, by seeing if I can hex you inside out," she said, not in anger, but in actual boredom.

"So you've been watchin' me Sheila?" he asked somewhat disturbed.

"You pulled me here because you were having a nightmare," she explained, "What do you think it means?" her question was met by a confused look, "The dream."

"Maybe oih just miss being home, before everything when it was all simple," he said sheepishly.

"Really?" she smirked, "Because I honestly think that it means you've lost all control of your life, and that you're starting to flip out," she stated bluntly.

St. John's head slumped down.

"John, I made you a promise," she whispered, "I fully intend on helping you, I will find a way to fix this."

"Would it be selfish if oih told you oih didn't want to go back? That oih want to stay here with you and the boys?" he asked with big tear filled eyes.

Wanda stood up and snapped her fingers, the black despair faded and they were immediately transferred to her room, "That's exactly what I needed to hear."

St. John sprang to his feet and placed his hand on the door, "You wanted to make sure oih wanted this?" he asked, turning the knob.

She nodded in confirmation, "John I wouldn't open that door," she said in a warning tone.

John stared at Wanda and tossed the door open, "Holy hell!" he exclaimed into the black abyss. He threw the door closed and put his full weight against it, "The hell was that?"

Wanda sat on her bed, "I don't have enough energy, mental or magical, to create anything other than these four walls," she explained, "And it'd be smart if you didn't try either."

He walked over to the bed and sat down next to her.

"You're not going to ask why?" she asked.

"Something about creating chaos in the real world, or some such nonsense," he said in a joking tone, "Oih trust you Sheila," he stared into her eyes, "But what are we gonna do for an entoihre day?" he paused for a moment, "You want to…" he trailed off.

"I don't know if you know this, John, but I'm a lesbian," she said sarcastically.

"Oih know Sheila, just a suggestion," he said, "You've never been with a man, and technically this wouldn't count, cause its loihke some funky dream."

"When you make sense bad things happen," she said cautiously, "But I guess it would pass the time," she smirked.

St. John gave her a smirk of his own, "To us, then," he leaned in for a kiss, "Well?"

Wanda's smirk shifted to a smile, "I kinda liked it."

-Several hours later in the Danger Room-

Logan and Charles stood in the control room, watching the utter carnage take place below them in the Danger Room. The very walls shook at the immense power that was being discharged.

"What's wrong with her, Chuck?" Logan asked, somewhat worried.

Charles sighed, "She appears to be experiencing massive spikes in power," he explained.

Logan paused for a moment, "Ain't she supposed to be an Omega?" he asked in confusion.

Charles nodded, "Jean, as well as Bobby, is classified as an Omega Level Mutant, although neither have displayed the raw power that accompanies such a status."

Logan let out a low growl, "Until now," he continued watching the situation, "What do you thinks' causing it?"

Charles focus his mind, "She is experiencing a sense of extreme agitation," he explained as both men continued to stare at into the Danger Room, "She's blocking me from her mind," there was a small explosion and Charles' eyes went wide, "Her mental power is so dense, it appears as if she's…" he was cut off by an extremely bright and fiery light.

Down in the Danger Room, surrounded by piles of burned scrap metal, stood Jean Grey. The sleeves of her costume had been burned off. Her hair danced around her waste like fire, while her forearms were literally set ablaze by psyonic energy. Her eyes began glowing a fiery yellow.

She walked forward from the wreckage, and although the destruction would portray anger, her face betrayed her true emotions. She was heartbroken. She balled her fists and her fire-like psyonic energy began pulsing throughout the room. The walls actually began cracking, "Phoenix…" she whispered as one final pulse erupted from her body.

-The Brotherhood Boarding House-

Pietro was the first out of bed and onto the front lawn, staring out into the general direction of the mansion. He was soon followed by Todd and Karima, who both wore their full winter gear.

Lance bedroom window slid up, "Pietro! Was that who I think it was?" he exclaimed in pure shock.

Pietro couldn't turn around to face his leader, "If it was… I hope Wanda wakes up soon," he said still in complete shock.

Todd crouched down, "What do we do, yo? We can't take her like this," Todd said, his voice filled with worry.

"I agree with him," Karima said her eyes glowing red, "I don't even have the power to fight her alone."

Lance let out a tremor, which gathered the attention of his teammates, "We're the Brotherhood! If we can't beat her alone, then we fight her together."

"Maybe we won't have to fight her," Todd said with an optimistic smile, gathering a glare from each of his comrade, "Oh yeah we always have to fight…"

Lance sighed, "Just go to bed, we'll figure things out tomorrow, when Freddy gets back," he said as he slid his window back down.

The conscious members of the Brotherhood filed back into the house, and as each one rested his or her head against a pillow tonight, they would slip into an uneasy sleep.

-The next day in New York City-

"Why do I have to do this?" a voice called out from a dressing room.

"Because everyone except you has a suit or a dress for celebrations," an agitated voice replied.

The dressing doors flung open to reveal the immovable one himself, Freddy.

Freddy fingered his collar, "That's 'cause when I flex my muscles, these weak clothes rip," he explained.

Raven took a step forward, "I know, that's why we're going to take your measurements and make you a suit that will rival your uniform in durability," she said with a smile.

Freddy peaked an eyebrow, "Then why do I have to try these on?" he asked in confusion.

"Well," she said, "If you didn't try them on we wouldn't have learned that you look quite dashing in navy blue."

Freddy blushed, "Thanks."

"Now, let's find you some shoes," she said walking towards the shoe department.

Unbeknownst to the two mutants, they were being closely watched from the shadows.

"I don't see why I'm on grunt duty," a stern voice whispered into a small device built into one of the buttons on his shirt.

"Scrambler, if you keep complaining, I'll skin you alive," a second more intimidating voice said.

"Jeez, Scalphunter, it's always blood and guts with you," Scrambler complained.

"Just get your job done and don't let them see you!" Scalphunter exclaimed.

There was a clicking noise signaling that the radio communication had ended.

Scrambler smirked as he watched Raven pick out some shoes, "I wonder what she really looks like," he said with a sick grin.


	13. Anywhere But Home

A/N: My Brothers and Sister, this is the final chapter of 'Pure Corruption'. I do hope you enjoy it. It took me an eternity to write. Sorry for the wait. Anyways, on with the show!

-A few hours later in Pietro's room-

"She's gone," Pietro said as he stared into his empty room.

"Maybe she went home," a voice said into his ear.

Pietro turned slightly to see the smirking face of Karima.

"You don't like her do you?" he asked with an expression on his face that she couldn't quite read.

Karima shrugged, "She just seems obsessed. Even in the middle of a battle, she would look at you in a primal sort of way," she explained.

Pietro stood in the hallway simply staring at the Sentinel woman. Both teens remained completely silent, until the front door slammed and a very agitated voice broke the silence.

"Numb-nuts, Short-bus, Skid-mark! Front and center!" Raven exclaimed from the bottom of the stairs.

Pietro stared at the cybernetic woman for a moment longer, before he turned and walked down the stairs.

When he got to the ground floor, Lance and Todd were already there greeting with Freddy.

"You have twenty-four hours," Raven said, gathering the attention of the recently regrouped Brotherhood Boys, "Wash up, clean your suits and be in them by the time I get home tomorrow, for inspection, or I will sell all four of you to science!" she yelled as she muscled past them to go up the stairs.

-Wanda's mind-

"That was intense Sheila," St. John said, his shirtless body dripping with sweat.

Wanda smirked, "I can honestly say that you, were amazing," she said slightly gasping for air.

St. John drew in a large breathe, "You want to do it again?" he asked with a sly grin.

"Okay," Wanda said quickly, "But this time I'm white," with a flick of her wrist a set of massive white marble chess pieces appeared below her.

In response, St. John snapped his fingers and his own fiery chess pieces appeared below him, "You know Sheila, oih'm kinda glad you're a lesbian," he said watching Wanda move her first piece with her chaos magic, "Didn't want that kiss to ruin our friendship," he moved one of his own pieces with a small gesture.

"I wouldn't worry about it," she said analyzing her next move, "It didn't mean anything," she moved her knight onto the field, "Besides, you love Amara and I love Jean."

St. John moved a pawn and Wanda quickly countered. It always went like that, moves would start quickly then slow until real thought could be put into each and every move.

St. John moved out his rook, "Oih wanted to know something," Wanda continued to look at the board, "Why are we sweating and breathing so hard?" he asked.

Wanda moved her bishop, "Sweating is just a physical representation of how much mental power we've been using to play this many matches," she explained, "As we lose energy our bodies appear more fatigued."

St. John took her bishop with his knight, "Check, but where did the room go?" he asked, his eyes never leaving the board.

"Neither of us have enough energy to play and keep the room together, so we have to settle for floating above a chess board in the middle of an abyss," Wanda's eyes grew wide, St. John's rook was where hers should be, his bishop dangerously close to her king, the only defense she had left was her queen, but alas it was not her turn.

St. John smirked, "Looks loihke ole Pyro is gonna win this one," he threw out his hand and his own queen started moving to defeat Wanda's queen and snatch victory.

But suddenly everything disappeared.

Wanda's sleeping form darted into a sitting position, after she realized where she was she smirked, "I guess we'll call it a draw."

"Oih won that fair and square!" St. John exclaimed.

Wanda looked at her clock, "We woke up ahead of schedule," she threw off the blanket and walked to the bathroom, "I need a shower."

-A few hours later in the Brotherhood living room-

Raven walked in front of each of the boys wearing her silver dress, "I expect you all to be on your best behavior," she said with a burning glare, "No fighting," she glared at Lance who wore a green button up shirt, "No hitting on any of my associates," She glared at Pietro, who wore a yellow shirt, "No stealing from anyone," she glared at Todd, who wore a red shirt. When she got to Freddy she stood in front of him for a moment and smiled, she straightened out his tie, "You're a good boy Freddy."

Todd leaned over to Pietro, "Why don't she yell at Freddy?" he asked.

Pietro shrugged, "The man's a saint, he does nothing as bad as the rest of us," Pietro said, matter of factly.

Lance stepped forward, "What about them?" he said pointing a finger at the fully dressed Brotherhood Women.

Raven looked at each woman. Karima wore a yellow backless dress, perfectly matching her blue arm, Regan wore a green strapless dress, and Wanda wore a black dress that only went to her knees, "They are not as hopeless as the five of you."

"Yeah!" St. John exclaimed.

"She said five you, koala hugging idiot," Wanda said, rolling her eyes.

"Let's go," Raven said kicking the boys out of the door.

-A few hours later at a mansion on the outskirts of Bayville-

After arriving, it had taken the Brotherhood Boys almost an hour to figure out that they were at a high society party, and another half hour to figure out the guest of honor was the same woman who would have each of their respective balls in a sling, should they embarrass her in anyway.

The boys stood against the wall drinking their punch just watching the female members of The Brotherhood interact with various other people.

They watched Wanda talk to Clint. Wanda would occasionally laugh, and then cast worried glances at the boys. They assumed it was St. John pleading for help, but did nothing to help.

Next they watched Karima mingle with several of the off duty police officers. The boys knew each and every officer, because… well they get arrested a lot!

After boredom set in, they watched Raven talk to the police commissioner and to their surprise Xavier. Each Brotherhood boy hated both men, but could do little in their current situation, after all their balls were literally on the line.

Lance suddenly began looking around the room frantically, "Have you guys seen Regan?"

As if on cue, Regan snaked her arm through his and began leading him to another couple, "Lance, honey I want you to meet Cathy and Herbert, Cathy owns the entire mall. She might want to hire you and the boys to do security for her over the weekend. Something about a large event, I wasn't listening," Regan said with a rather large smile.

"We don't come cheap," Lance said with a peeked eyebrow.

Regan rolled her eyes, "This coming from the man with holes in his boxers," she said with her smile still intact.

"Hey, those are lucky," Lance said in agitation.

"Lucky I haven't thrown them out," she whispered under her breath, "Cathy, this is my husband, Lance," she said throwing Lance forward slightly.

-A few more hours later-

The Brotherhood walked to Raven's side, just as the last guest departed the mansion.

Lance reached a hand around his wife's waist, "Well Mystique that was a great party," he said with a hint of sarcasm, "But we're going home."

Raven looked at the boy for a moment, "I don't understand," she said in confusion.

"You know, home?" Lance said, "The building with the big dent in the door? The place I like to park my car? The abode I planned on teaching Todd bass in?"

As Lance finished his question a man carrying a television walked in, "Where do you want this?" he asked. Raven pointed to one of the far room, which resulted in several more men with various pieces of furniture in hand.

Lance peeked an eyebrow, "What the hell are they doing with our stuff?" he asked in anger.

Regan looked up at her husband, "Lance, honey… you did know that this was a house warming party… right?" she asked.

Lance stared at his wife for a moment, "Huh?"

Raven rolled her eyes, "This is our home. We live here now," she said very slowly.

The Brotherhood Boys continued staring, "Huh?" they asked in unison.

-Several seconds later-

The front door promptly slammed in the Brotherhood Boys' faces, who were now located on the front step.

Todd looked back at the other boys, "Where are we gonna sleep, yo?" he asked in a slight panic.

"We live in a mansion," Freddy said with a smile.

Lance started walking to the Challenger, "Not tonight, we don't," he said digging into his pockets for his keys.

The Boys quickly closed the gap and got into the car.

"Who's up for breaking into the X-garage and sleeping in the X-van?" Pietro asked with a smile.

Lance smiled back, "Sounds like a plan," he said putting the Challenger in gear and speeding off down the driveway.

-Meanwhile, at St. Joseph's Memorial Hospital-

Remy walked through a hallway towards a door. When he got to the door he threw it open and came face to face with a man that sent shivers down his spine, but now wasn't the time fear.

"Remy don't like dis," he said slamming his hands on the desk in front of him, "We should attack dem together."

"Have you lost faith in your abilities?" a shadowed figure asked sitting in a chair across from the Cajun.

"Never!" Remy exclaimed, "You want Remy on your side? He fakes his death. You want Remy to throw a fight? He let Johnny win. You want Remy to manipulate de Brotherhood? He breaks up Speedy and Anna."

The figure sighed, "Feel free to share your point."

"Remy just tired of holding back," Remy said, agitation creeping into his voice.

The figure stood up revealing a rather intimidating frame. He then leaned forward showing just who e was, "It appears you may get your chance," Sinister said with a twisted smile.

-In the lobby-

A hooded figure walked into the main lobby and was immediately surrounded by both sets of Marauders.

"One person?" Scalphunter asked in annoyance, "Dog pile him!"

Remy took a step back as his teammates leapt forward, only to be suspended several feet in the air.

The figure pulled at the hood to reveal long red hair.

"Jean?" Remy asked in confusion.

"What are you doing to my Marauders?" Sinister asked floating down from the second floor.

Jean flicked her wrist causing all of the Marauders to crash into the walls.

Sinister took a step forward not in anger, but in curiosity. He began walking circles around the young woman, examining her with his psyonic powers, "Or should I ask… why are you here?"

Jean closed her eyes, and kept them closed for several seconds, before she smirked and opened her eyes to reveal two big sad glowing balls of fiery mental energy, "To be anywhere but home..."

**A/N:** This story was extremely hard to write. I really hope you enjoyed it though. I plan on taking a long and relaxing break before I start 'Innocence Lost.'


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